We've already played 29.4 percent of the 2021 season. After today's Cowboys game, over a third of the season will be in the books.
Obviously the Patriots, at 2-3, aren't where anyone hoped they would be, especially themselves. But there's still a long way to go this season. There's reason to believe the team has started a slight upswing, and with eight teams in the AFC with two or three losses, the race for the three wild-card spots will go down to the wire (New England being 2-1 in the conference is a good start).
Part of the slow start this season has had to do with the Patriots bringing in so many new players in one offseason. We warned you that it takes time for things to gel, and it likely wouldn't be until the second half of the season, when the coaches figured out how to use all the players, and for the players to trust/know each other. So far, that has gone on, especially on offense with a rookie starting quarterback in Mac Jones.
Let's take stock of where the various newcomers are through five games, and if there's hope for them to contribute/be better down the stretch. We're casting a wide net in terms of newcomers — they could be rookies, second-year players, players largely playing for the first time as Patriots, and the free agents. We'll give you their playing time, PFF grade (approximately, 80 is good, 70 is average, 60 is below average, etc), and my grade to this point. I do not grade on a curve or factor in circumstances. If you are playing in an NFL game, you are judged against the norm at that position. You'll also get my outlook on the player.
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OFFENSE
QB Mac Jones
100% of offensive snaps
PFF Grade: 73.5
Bedard's Grade: C+
Got off to a great start in the opening game against the Dolphins when Brian Flores threw the kitchen sink at him and Jones handled it all very well. Was average in Week 2, worse in Week 3, good against Tampa and solid against Houston. Considering the struggles of the offensive line, which left him under duress each of the first four games and yielded none of the anticipated vaunted running game, and four new weapons that had to be acclimated, Jones is doing just fine so far in his development. Could he be better? Yes. Has he arrived? Nope. Do they need to find bigger plays in the passing game? Yup. Are the struggles of the offense reflective of Jones? No. It's a reflection of where they are as a unit, which is scuffling and that was to be expected. Now we will see how they progress the rest of the season.
WR Nelson Agholor
78.7%
PFF: 67.4
Bedard: D
Just 16 catches through five games is not nearly the production anyone wanted. He's been fine on the field, but if there's any player besides Jones that has struggled as a result of the line, it's Damien Harris and Agholor. He needs time for his routes to develop and with an average QB pressure rate of 36 percent through the first four games, that hasn't come close to happening. Route running is a little iffy in this scheme, and that will develop in time.
OT Justin Herron
74.7%
PFF: 50.2
Bedard: D
Just having Herron this high up the playing time list means something has gone array, namely Trent Brown. Leads the team with 17 QB pressures allowed so far. He's probably a year away from really being ready to be an every-down NFL starting tackle as he continues to build strength, but he's been a solid backup.
LG Mike Onwenu
72.6%
PFF: 85.2
Bedard: B-
Was a stud last year playing right tackle as rookie but, despite PFF's decidedly wrong grade, he has not made a clean transition to left guard. It was so bad, that the Patriots benched him against the Buccaneers. And it wasn't for injury because he was not on the injury report going in or out of that game. His 7.5 total QB pressures allowed is third on the team and his four stuffed runs are tied for first among linemen. He has, overall, been good. But guard is not for everyone. The speed of the game is much quicker there and he could just very well need more time to adjust. Still a good player, but he might be better at tackle.
TE Hunter Henry
71.1%
PFF: 72.4
Bedard: C
Went from basically doing nothing to being Jones' most trusted target against the Texans. Our sense is that's a sign of things to come, and the Patriots need him to dominate in the red zone. Funny how Jones finally had good time against the Texans and they actually made plays in the passing game. Ok, a few.
WR Kendrick Bourne
57.1%
PFF: 71.4
Bedard: B-
Feels like he gets more comfortable and better with each passing week. The team loves him and feels he's close to breaking out. They need to use him more in a variety of ways. One of the few speed elements on the team.
TE Jonnu Smith
55.3%
PFF: 44.6
Bedard: F
Let's see .... team-worst eight stuffed runs allowed and five drops, including one for a pick-six, and two penalties. Yeah, players have gotten off to better starts than this. As far as blocking, he's not going to make anyone forget about Rob Gronkowski. Look, he's really struggling and he's obviously lost a good amount of confidence. Going to have to find a way to build him up, because the Patriots will need him to make plays with the ball in his hands.
OT Yasir Durant
24.9
PFF: 62.6
Bedard: D
Was a late add via trade so he's been playing catchup as a sub. His 4.5 QB pressures allowed in that amount of playing time is not good. With the emergence of others, he's likely just a depth piece for the balance of the season.
Yodny Cajuste
19.5%
PFF: 53.5
Bedard: D+
Allowed 2 pressures and 2 stuffed runs in his first-ever NFL game action, so that's not lighting the world on fire. But the former third-round pick has some real skills and athletic ability that is very intriguing for the future, if he can stay on the field.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson
8.2%
PFF: 50.7
Bedard: F
A 2.1 average, one huge fumble and one catch in the passing game makes you understand why the Patriots usually redshirt their rookie running backs, and question why they shipped off Sony Michel.
RB J.J. Taylor
5.8%
PFF: 58.2 percent
Bedard: F
With James White lost for the season and one of the few speed elements on this offense, the Patriots have to get him out of Ivan Fears' doghouse and productive on the field. This would be a great week to do that.
OT Trent Brown
2.1%
PFF: 57.5
Bedard: F
One series played to date is the worst-case scenario and being chuckled about in Vegas. Oh, another calf injury? Antonio Brown and now Trent Brown ... maybe the Patriots should avoid Raiders castoffs. That being said, I'm going down with the ship: Brown will come back and dominate and fix this broken line.
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DEFENSE
Matt Judon
82.5%
PFF: 66.7
Bedard: A-
Merely leads the team in sacks (6.5), total QB pressures (16) and is tied for stuffed runs (6). He has been far from perfect — he blew a coverage vs. Saints that went for a TD and his edge work in the run game has been a little hit and miss — but can you imagine how bad this defense would be without him?
Kyle Dugger
81.9%
PFF: 62.5
Bedard: D
Has made a few plays in the run game (4.5 stuffs) but hasn't done much blitzing and continues to play slow in space and pass coverage. He may now be a year away, but he's getting run. They need his speed. Now the coaches just have to find a way to get him to play faster and actually make plays.
Jalen Mills
71.8%
PFF: 59.2
Bedard: D+
Did a nice job in the Bucs game before getting hurt so maybe he was coming around, but prior to that he was easily thrown on and missed a team-leading three tackles. With no more Stephon Gilmore, Mills has to play well and stay healthy.
Kyle Van Noy
60.4%
PFF: 53.8
Bedard: D
Only 1.5 QB pressure and 0.5 stuffs ... who is this version of KVN and what did you do with the real KVN? This is not the same guy who was here before. We questioned where he was going to play on this defense if there weren't any injuries, well ... he's not really playing. He's just kind of out there. He has to be dealing with some injury, like a groin, that kept him out some of camp. Add him to the list of guys who need to be jumpstarted.
Davon Godchaux
53.4%
PFF: 65.1
Bedard: C-
After a very rocky start holding his gaps, Godchaux has settled down a bit. Still, that he has more QB pressures (5) than stuffs (2.5) is not good for his spot, and is indicative of him not yet buying into the nose tackle role here. Happens a lot. Danny Shelton was the same way, until it finally clicked.
Christian Barmore
50.9%
PFF: 47.7
Bedard: B+
Another example of how PFF lies because you can't compare players from scheme to scheme. The rookie is second on the team with 9 QB pressures and that's great production to this point. Not great in the run game, but he has a lot of upside there as well. Counting the days until the Patriots sit Deatrich Wise for Barmore in base. Oh, wait, I forgot, he's PFF's best Patriots defender. Actually, Adrian Phillips just edges him by 0.1 points ... someone alert Cris Collinsworth.
Josh Uche
29.1%
PFF: 61.3
Bedard: D
When you bring back a bunch of old guys, and stubbornly play Wise all the time, you have to sit promising younger players like Uche and Chase Winovich. Despite only rushing the passer 52 times, Uche has five QB pressure. Wise has the same number in double the snaps. So, yeah, Uche might not be ideal against the run, but sometimes you gotta play to learn. Play Uche.
Henry Anderson
10.7%
PFF: 67.5
Bedard: Incomplete.
After being mistakenly sat against the Dolphins, the coaching staff wised up ... and he played 35 snaps before getting hurt. Anderson should have been playing instead of Wise on early downs.
Myles Bryant
6.1%
PFF: 65.1
Bedard: C
Got moved up from the practice squad for the Texans game and when Joejuan Williams was benched for Jonathan Jones at boundary, and Bryant took over for Jones in the slot, the defense miraculously started getting stops against the immortal Davis Mills. Do more of that.
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NICKEL PACKAGE
1. Jon Gruden was the only person associated with the NFL to utter anything offensive or racist in 650,000 emails. Yeah, ok.
This is the same lesson you should have learned during Deflategate: the NFL is bound by no rules, is only beholden to money, has its own agenda and will never have inherent fairness. If you're waiting for it to happen or stomping your feet in anger over any of their actions ever, you are completely wasting your time.
2. Speaking of those emails, does anyone else find it curious that Gruden's racist emails aimed at DeMaurice Smith were leaked at the exact same time that the NFLPA's executive board was moving to end his tenure? Those emails got leaked, and then Smith got a one-year reprieve. Part of the reason why some in the NFLPA were moving against Smith was that they deemed him too cozy with the NFL and for having struck a bad deal in the last CBA. Suddenly, with big TV deals in the balance, the NFL still has Smith in position. Funny how that worked.
3. NFL Network reports Cam Newton is now fully vaccinated. Here's my report on teams rushing to sign him now ... crickets.
4. Jerry Jones on Bill Belichick, via the Dallas Morning News and an interview on 105.3 The Fan:
"He will look for ways to have winning plays on special teams. I admire him for that, and I think it’s been a big reason for their success. And he won’t give you the looks that you expect. I admire him for that. A lot of coaches we’re going to take the attributes of the players that we got ready to play Sunday and we’re going to tailor what we do based on how they best execute them. A lot of coaches talk the talk, but they don’t walk the walk on that. He does. He puts out imaginative schemes. He uses the talent that he’s got available to him that day. He does that. He makes unconventional decisions on many decisions out there, and it works, and he’s been so successful with it, and I admire him as a coach.”
5. Game of the day is definitely a matchup of 4-1 teams when the Chargers travel to meet the Ravens. Leave to Ravens defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale to sum up Justin Herbert precisely. “I think he’s one of those guys who could throw a strawberry through a battleship,” he said.
OK then. (It's an old Buddy Ryan-ism.)