1 -- The Patriots announced this week that training camp at Gillette Stadium will kick off July 27th. That means after a spring spent learning and developing, the cut-throat summertime competition for roster spots and roles on the 2022 New England team is little more than a month away.
Heading toward camp, Bill Belichick’s team has an interesting makeup. There aren’t a ton of new faces, with the bulk of the roster made up of returning contributors combined with guys who have been in the system for a year or more who will be looking to make their mark at this point.
With the competition now just five weeks away, it got us thinking about what might be the most competitive positions come Patriots training camp.
Certainly near the top of the list has to be wide receiver. The additions of veteran DeVante Parker and second-round rookie Tyquan Thornton adds two guys likely to secure spots if healthy. Second-year player Tre Nixon looked like player in spring action who’ll inject himself into the roster conversation, while veteran Ty Montgomery is a versatile option whose potential dual role as a receiver and running back may be of need. Even big-bodied Lil’ Jordan Humphrey could join the competition as a late addition to the roster.
Add those to a corps of proven returning contributors in Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor and the receiver group goes at least seven deep in guys worth watching in training camp reps and preseason game action.
While the receiver competition includes plenty of experienced options, the competition at linebacker may be just as heated this summer among a group of mostly unproven, unknown candidates. Ja’Whaun Bentley leads the spot that’s undergoing an youth movement, while veteran Raekwon McMillan (torn ACL in 2021) and Mack Wilson (trade addition from the Browns) have starting experience on their past NFL resume. After that, the likes of Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings, Ronnie Perkins and Cameron McGrone are a who’s who of guys with almost no impact NFL reps to speak of. They will all be competing for major opportunities at the second level of the Patriots defense come August action.
Maybe the competition with the most interesting mix of veteran experience and unproven youth is at the cornerback spot. With New England moving on from a pair of Pro Bowl No. 1 cornerbacks in less than year with the trade of Stephon Gilmore and free agent departure of J.C. Jackson, jobs at cornerback are wide open. Malcolm Butler returns after a one-year retirement to possibly duke it out with Jalen Mills for the No. 1 job. Jonathan Jones returns from injury to reclaim his slot role. Rookie draft picks Marcus Jones and Jack Jones, the latter one of the stars of spring workouts, are very much in the mix. Journeyman veteran Terrance Mitchell will likely have a contributing role, while second-year trade addition Shaun Wade is a bit of wild card.
There will obviously be competition all across the training camp field – and in some ways across the coaching staff! – this summer in Foxborough, the but the battles at wide receiver, linebacker and cornerback should provide the most intriguing action for media and fans in attendance.
2 – The average NFL career lasts little more than three years, and a number of members of the Patriots 2020 draft class are facing the reality of short term football job security as they look to remain in New England for even a third season. While top 2020 pick Kyle Dugger has established himself as a talented, reliable option at safety who might just be embarking on a breakout season, the rest of that draft class is on far less stable ground. Sixth-round pick Mike Onwenu looks to get back into the starting lineup after a year relegated to reserve duty. Beyond that the second-round linebacker Uche, third-rounder Jennings and pair of third-round tight ends Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene all could battling for their professional lives this summer having yet to make much of an on-field impact.
3 – While members of the 2020 draft class may be hitting the make-or-break point in their careers in training camp 2022, a few guys from the 2019 class may already be working through their final days of employment in Foxborough. Though the wide receiver and cornerback positions are in some ways up for grabs, 2019 first-round pick N’Keal Harry and second-round cornerback selection Joejuan Williams don’t feel like they’re in the middle of those battles. Neither has made much of his opportunities over the last three years and at this point almost feel like they’d be surprises to make the roster rather than be considered surprise cuts despite their high draft status.
4 – Pro Football Focus loves to use its proprietary grades and analytics to rank just about everything there is to rank when it comes to the NFL. One of those rankings that came across the Instagram feed this week was PFF’s rundown of the top offensive lines heading into the 2022 season. New England’s new-look group, which lost a pair of starting guards in Ted Karras (free agent) and Shaq Mason (trade), is still the No. 7 unit in the NFL according to PFF. If healthy the Patriots line of Trent Brown, first-round pick Cole Strange, David Andrews, Mike Onwenu and Isaiah Wynn clearly has the potential to be the foundation of the offense. But the group is not without questions. Both Brown and Wynn have a history of struggling to stay on the field, while Wynn’s possible transition from left to right tackle bears watching.
Strange is making a big jump in competition from FCS Chattanooga, with the left guard spot apparently his to lose. And Onwenu has played much better at tackle than guard over his first two NFL seasons. Could the Patriots have one of the best lines in the NFL in 2022, as PFF suggests? Absolutely. But with limited obvious backup talent on the depth chart, the group has to stay healthy and answer some questions to prove itself worthy of that projected status.
5 – Tully Banta-Cain made a name for himself as a seventh-round pick for the Patriots who ended up becoming a relatively impactful NFL pass rusher. Banta-Cain had 27.5 career sacks in time in New England and San Francisco, including 10 for the 2009 Patriots. Now, the two-time Super Bowl champion is competing on a very different stage in front of a national TV audience. Banta-Cain is part of the NFL Players Chorus that recently sang its way to the next round of the “America’s Got Talent” competition. The NFL Player Chorus was formed more than a decade ago. The group performs annually at the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration and sang the National Anthem at the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas this past winter.
6 – Coach Cam Achord’s special teams units will be looking to bounce back this fall from what was a hellacious 2021 season that included too many blocked punts, too many costly penalties and overall poor play. But there is every reason to be hopeful New England will have a bounce back year in the kicking game in 2022. Kicker Nick Folk is back to hold down his job as one of the best in the game, even if his elite status over the last couple seasons has seemingly flown a bit under the radar. Based on spring action punter Jake Bailey is once again healthy and ready to return to the All-Pro status he achieved in 2020 with one of the best punting seasons in franchise history. Matthew Slater and Justin Bethel remain as two of the better core special teamers in the league, while life may be injected into the return game with the drafting if All-American Marcus Jones. Sure 2021 was a special teams season that Achord and Belichick would probably love to forget, but the third phase has the potential to once again be a strength for New England this year.
7 – Size and speed are far from the only attributes that matter at the receiver position where Belichick has emphasized the simple need for players to “get open and catch the football.” But it’s hard not to note the fact that the Patriots added significant size and speed at receiver this offseason. New England traded for the 6-3, 225-pounder Parker and then drafted the 6-2 Thornton, who ran the fastest 40 time at the NFL Combine. The receiver size trend continued last week with the addition of Humphrey, who measures in at 6-4, though he doesn’t add much in terms of speed having run a 4.75 40 at the 2019 NFL Combine, worst of any receiver in attendance in Indy that year. It will be interesting to see Humphrey on the camp practice field this summer to observe how he uses his size and overcomes his apparent lack of speed, joining Harry (6-4), as bigger, slower receivers in the competitive mix at the position. For what it’s worth, Humphrey has averaged 18.4 yards per reception in his limited production over three NFL seasons, including 19.2 yards per catch on his career-high 13 receptions for the Saints last year with a 56-yard long.