The arrival of quarterback Cam Newton should be a welcome sight for New England Patriots running back Sony Michel and receiver N’Keal Harry, a pair of first-round draft choices whose careers are headed on a negative trajectory.
It’s not that they’re draft busts — yet. But they’re starting to flirt with that label. Perhaps Newton can reverse that negative trajectory.
Michel’s powerful running helped New England get to Super Bowl LIII, where the team beat the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3. Michel, a 2018 first-round pick, deserves credit for his 336 yards and six touchdowns in the three postseason games after the 2018 season. His production was, in large part, thanks to excellent work from his offensive line and fullback James Develin.
Last year, however, Michel was mess. During the 2019 season, when Develin suffered an injury and the quality New England’s offensive line play declined, Michel was left to his own devices to make plays, and he averaged 3.7 yards per carry. To make matters worse, he couldn’t contribute as a pass-catcher. Tom Brady rarely targeted Michel, who had 12 receptions last season. Michel’s lack of passing game contributions made the Patriots fairly predictable. Michel was a clear indicator the Patriots wanted to run. When they wanted to pass the ball, they fielded running James White. The 2020 season will go a long way in establishing the narrative about Michel, whose contributions lacked explosiveness and versatility last year.
And then there’s N’Keal Harry, a 2019 first-round pick who finished his rookie season with 12 catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns in seven games. He spent the first eight games of the season on injured reserve with an ankle injury, but even upon making his return, he was ruled inactive in the team’s ninth game of the season. In the Patriots’ postseason game against the Tennessee Titans, New England seemed to emphasize getting Harry the ball, with one rush for seven yards and seven targets for two receptions and 21 yards. Rookie receivers have never been productive under Brady, but even in 2019, undrafted rookie wideout Jakobi Meyers managed 26 catches for 359 yards. And it’s not like there wasn’t room for production. New England’s need for a receiver was so pronounced that it traded for Mohamed Sanu at midseason, a transaction which didn’t payout. Sanu struggled.
If Newton takes over the starting job — and only injuries can stop him — then he’s going to lift the production of these two players former first-round picks.
It’s easy to imagine Newton being a little more open and forgiving than Brady in the passing game. Newton has a history of helping elevate most of his running backs and receivers in their rookie seasons, with Kelvin Benjamin eclipsing 1,000 yards in 2014 and Devin Funchess putting up 473 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 2015. Christian McCaffrey has always been a beast, and his rookie season was no exception, with 80 receptions. Newton will still make significant adjustments at the line of scrimmage, which is often where younger players struggled with Brady. But Newton had a much easier time getting younger players involved in the Panthers offense when he was there.
In the running game, Newton’s contributions should help create space for Michel. New England will probably use the read-option to get Newton moving out of shotgun — that’s a formation that worked for Michel in college at Georgia. With Newton serving as a runner, defenders may not be able to hone in on Michel to the same degree. And likely, Newton’s arrival will create an emphasis on the running game, putting more blockers on the field at fullback and tight end for Michel and Newton. It’s all good news for the running back, who thrived when running behind fullback James Develin in 2018 but regressed when he got injured in 2019.
In the passing game, Newton has helped the careers of hulking and young receivers Benjamin and Funchess. In fact, Benjamin struggled enormously after leaving Newton and Carolina. Funchess, meanwhile, dealt with an injury in 2019 — it’s to be determined whether Newton elevated the receiver’s level of play. Regardless, there are some parallels between Harry, Benjamin and Funchess, largely because of their size and athleticism and, in turn, their catch radius. Newton seems to like receivers like Harry.
It’s strange to think that Brady, the king of elevating the play of those around him, couldn’t get the most out of Michel and Harry. But that’s exactly what was happening in 2019. If Newton changes the Patriots offense, those adjustments may make Michel and Harry better.
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