Safety

The Patriots had arguably the best secondary in the NFL last season and the safety group had a huge part of that. Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung and Duron Harmon formed a bond that was stronger than Gorilla Glue. Harmon was traded to the Detroit Lions and Chung opted-out as well.

The Patriots now have a 32-year old McCourty, a second-round rookie in Kyle Dugger and a freshly-signed Adrian Phillips. Phillips is a six-year veteran and will likely take Chung’s role to start the season — unless Dugger’s talent is undeniable in training camp. Phillips typically plays a strong safety-type role and will bring youth to the position.

Chung’s absence leaves a huge hole to fill in a short amount of time, but the Patriots fortunately have enough talent at the position to pivot.

Kicker

Before the 2019 season, the Patriots had nearly three decades of security and elite skills at the kicking position. Adam Vinatieri held down the position for New England since 1996 and Gostkowski picked it up in 2006 — both kickers are surefire Hall of Famers.

Gostkowski missed the season last year with injury and it took a very noticeable hit on the team’s offensive gameplan. The Patriots had little flexibility in late-game situations and they scrambled to find a kicker who filled their needs. Belichick drafted Justin Rohrwasser in the fifth round and his abilities are still unknown. Rohrwasser went to Marshall and doesn’t have much film that’s available to the public.

The Patriots might’ve hit and found their third consecutive star in Rohrwasser, but for now, he’s an under-the-radar rookie with enormous shoes to fill.

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