6 rings: Mac Jones seems completely broken
The Patriots offense is struggling.
Through the first five weeks of the NFL season, New England’s offense is averaging just 11 points per game, and have scored a combined three points in their last two contests.
One thought that many have opined as the reason the Patriots offense can’t get off the ground is that they, and more specifically Bill Belichick, have failed to surround Mac Jones with enough talent.
Super Bowl LIII MVP Julian Edelman agrees. Here are his thoughts on his former team’s draft strategy:
“I think [Belichick] needs a little help on the offensive side,” Edelman told FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd on Monday. “I mean, you look at the defensive picks, they all look pretty good. They always come out and they perform. The Christian Gonzalez kid, before he got hurt, looked like he was playing good. I mean, we have whiffed, and I hate talking about coach like this, but we have whiffed on a lot of offensive skill position players. Starting from, and I won’t call guys out, but there were three or four receivers that we got in top rounds that… you look in camp and you could always see from a guy that’s drafted high. You see one trait, you know they’re raw, but you can see one trait– ‘Oh, yup. That’s a first rounder’. You’re looking [around New England], and I was like ‘ehhh, what’s going on here? That’s not a first-rounder. I don’t know what’s going on.’ I think he would be the first to tell you that he’s had some screw-ups. He’s a very accountable guy.”
Those draft whiffs include, but are certainly not limted to, N’Keal Harry, Devin Asiasi, Dalton Keene, and Isaiah Wynn.
Another decision that Edelman doesn’t sound too fond of was the Patriots letting wide receiver Jakobi Meyers walk away in free agency this offseason.
“I’m still a little shook on the Jakobi Meyers departure,” he explained. “I didn’t get that. He could separate a lot, he could run routes, he was tough in the run game. He would go in and block the force and that’s what you preach as a New England receiver. Get open, catch the ball, and block in the run game. Those are the three things that you hear all the time.”
“This receiver group we have,” Edelman said of the Patriots’ current corps. “It just seems like they’re struggling to create separation… and I’ve been really hard on Mac and I’ve been watching, and it’s tough. A guy's a little open, and that’s still open, but they’re still not giving him the right reads."
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