The New England Patriots are entering an offseason unlike any in recent memory. Not only will they not have Tom Brady anymore, they also will have to reshape their entire roster — at just about every position. In this respect, this offseason will be uncharted territory for Patriots coach and general manager Bill Belichick.
Without a quarterback in the fold this offseason, the Patriots will not have a clear picture of what wide receivers and tight ends they should add to support their signal-caller. The Patriots may look to the free agent market, or they may choose to start anew in the draft. However, they don’t have the flexibility of knowing what type of quarterback they have heading into this offseason. Thus, it will be difficult to build around his strengths.
This season, the Patriots group of wide receivers was a mix of complementary receivers. Between Cam Newton’s throwing struggles and his inability to get the football down the field, there was not a lot of consistency. Jakobi Meyers was the only consistent receiver for New England. He caught 59 passes for 729 yards.
With Brady, he favored the slot receivers and tight ends. Aside from 2007 with Randy Moss, the deep ball wasn’t his primary mode of getting the football downfield. Instead, Brady liked making heavy use of Julian Edelman, Wes Welker and Troy Brown. He also relied on receiving running backs such as Dion Lewis, James White or Shane Vereen.
Thus, Bill Belichick was able to load up on running backs with versatility, and that helped Brady within the offense.
Heading into 2021, it will be hard to build a team that knowing what the quarterback will be and what his tendencies are. No longer does Belichick have the luxury of just plugging in players and making things work around Brady. And that’s not even to mention the fact that the Patriots will have to sell themselves harder than ever to free agents. Previously, they had Brady as a selling point. Last year, Belichick could sell himself. This year, Belichick carries less clout with a 7-9 record — and no quarterback.
Belichick now enters an uncertain offseason, in which he both has to mold the roster and find a quarterback. This could lead to some growing pains for whoever is under center. The margin for error will be extremely small, particularly with his well-documented struggles in the draft over the last few years.
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