Special teams

Spearheaded by Matthew Slater, the Patriots’ special teams unit has remained elite in the past decade. Belichick added a core player in Justin Bethel last season, who earned three Pro Bowl nods as a special teamer. Second-year punter Jake Bailey proved to quickly ascend as one of the league’s best and the Patriots signed two safeties in Adrian Phillips and Cody Davis that’ll make an impact this season.

The Patriots have long snapper Joe Cardona entering his sixth season with the team and running back Brandon Bolden as a key contributor. New England’s problematic areas come at the coaching position and at kicker — where they lost both. Former special teams coach Joe Judge took a head coaching job with the New York Giants and long-time kicker Stephen Gostkowski was released.

New England confidently drafted Justin Rohrwasser in the fifth round and they have Cam Achord to replace Judge. Both replacements don’t have the credibility of their successors, but they do have Belichick overseeing them.

Barring injury, the Patriots are set up for another elite season with their special teams unit.

Fullbacks

The fullback position turned into an absolute nightmare last season. James Develin played two games and went down with a season-ending neck injury — leading to playing time for undrafted free agent Jakob Johnson. Johnson played in four games and went down with an injury himself, leaving linebacker Elandon Roberts as the primary option.

Develin retired this offseason and the Patriots signed free agent Danny Vitale, who played most recently for the Green Bay Packers. Vitale is heading into his fifth season in the league and his 6-foot, 240 pound frame gives him a major advantage in the trenches. He also recorded 135 receptions, 1,427 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns in college.

The Patriots have Vitale and Johnson on the roster currently and they both are full of youth. Vitale is the perfect replacement for Develin and he’ll help New England get their running game back in order.