News:
Lil'Jordan Humphrey
Age: 24
Draft: Undrafted, 2019 out of Texas
Hgt: 6-3.5. Wgt: 215. 40 time: 4.75 3-cone: 7.09
Stats:
What a minute, Bedard, I thought you've been talking about the Patriots' receivers room being very crowded — even with us all knowing that N'Keal Harry won't be long for this team. I mean, you've mentioned Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne and Jakobi Meyers all in separate possible trades. And the Patriots add another receiver? What's up, bro?!
I'm glad you asked, I have a couple of thoughts.
First and foremost, you have to discuss what kind of receiver Humphrey is. He is a bigger-body, inside possession receiver. He can do some things on the outside, but he's made his living (what he's had to date) on the inside.
From PFF:
Some of his highlights:
New Patriot Lil'Jordan Humphrey (left slot) using physicality in his stem to stack the defender and adjusting to the back-shoulder pass for a TD pic.twitter.com/1LabPP85tx
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) June 15, 2022
Lil’Jordan Humphrey with his first career TD for the Saints! pic.twitter.com/YZyeymROs4
— Hook'em Headlines (@HookemHeadlines) December 21, 2020
Taysom Hill throws a strike to Lil'Jordan Humphrey for the @Saints TD!@T_Hill4 | @LJ_Humphrey23 #MINvsNO pic.twitter.com/Ry4Ec5bcSa
— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2019
Riiiiiiight down the middle 🎯
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 30, 2019
Lil'Jordan Humphrey via @teddyb_h2o | #MIAvsNO pic.twitter.com/I2BEs8vGaL
DISCUSSION
Let's start by laying out the Patriots' receiving depth chart by body types:
Big boundary
DeVante Parker
N'Keal Harry
Kristian Wilkerson
Inside/outside athletes
Nelson Agholor
Kendrick Bourne
Tyquan Thornton
Big inside receivers
Jakobi Meyers
Jonnu Smith
Ty Montgomery
Lil'Jordan Humphrey
Smaller slot
Tre Nixon
Malcolm Perry
Traditional TEs
Hunter Henry
Matt Sokol
My initial thought is, this is a move to give them depth when they move on from Harry. I would say Harry is, at his best (if we ever see it), a big boundary receiver like Parker. If the Patriots move on from Harry, they don't really have another player similar to Parker and Humphrey would fill that role. Wilkerson is fine for what he is, and the two would compete as Parker's backup there.
Humphrey also reminds me of a slightly taller Meyers, and Humphrey gives them a backup in case of injury, contract, what have you. In this case, the Patriots have moved on from the small slot types, and are going with the bigger slots.
Back to Harry for a minute and what this could really be about, if the Patriots wanted to get a little nuts with Humphrey.
Harry has really proven to be a big inside receiver, to the point we've been talking for two years about moving Harry to Move TE in the mold of Smith and Aaron Hernandez. Perhaps Harry has balked at that, and the Patriots are ready to ship him out and try with a different receiver, Humphrey. Not exactly sure where Humphrey is at size and strength now — he was 6-4, 210 and 13 bench press reps. Judging by the film and pictures, he doesn't appear to have added a ton of muscle so he's probably in the 215, 220 range. If Humphrey has decided to bulk up this offseason, he would make the most sense on the roster to at least be a viable backup to Smith as an H-back in this offense. Smith was 6-4, 248 with 22 bench when he entered the NFL. That's a long ways from Humphrey, but they are pretty similar in terms of receiver and where they like to operate on the field.
Humphrey, assuming Harry is out, gives the Patriots some added depth at big boundary, but don't be surprised if he gets some looks inside as well.
PATRIOTS TO OPEN TRAINING CAMP JULY 27TH
From the team:
On Tuesday, July 26, the New England Patriots will report to training camp and then on Wednesday, July 27 the team will conduct their first training session on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium. The Patriots also confirmed open practices on Thursday, July 28, Friday, July 29 and Saturday, July 30. Times will be updated on the Patriots training camp website, www.patriots.com/trainingcamp and on the Patriots and Gillette Stadium apps once confirmed in the days leading into training camp.
In addition, the Patriots announced that public access to training camp will conclude when they host two days of joint practices with the Carolina Panthers on Tuesday, Aug. 16, and Wednesday, Aug. 17, prior to the preseason game at Gillette Stadium on Friday, Aug. 19 at 7:00 p.m. Those practice sessions will be open to the public. The Patriots will also travel for joint practices with the Las Vegas Raiders prior to the preseason-finale on Friday, Aug. 26 at Allegiant Stadium. Last season, the Patriots traveled to Philadelphia for joint practices and hosted the New York Giants for practice sessions.