Tag: Phillip Dorsett

2020 NFL Free Agency: 12 wide receivers for the Saints to consider

The New Orleans Saints won’t lack for options at wide receiver in free agency, ranging from A.J. Green and Amari Cooper to Phillip Dorsett.

The number-one priority for the New Orleans Saints in the 2020 offseason has to be finding a wide receiver to run opposite Michael Thomas (after their quarterbacks riddle is answered, of course). Thomas put the team on his back for much of the 2019 season, breaking and resetting the NFL record for receptions in a single season, but he can’t be expected to do that every year.

Ted Ginn Jr. was the next-best wide receiver in catches, and he only had 30. After him, no other wideouts had more than 18. The Saints were able to win a lot of games and get into the playoffs by asking Thomas to make magic despite the extra coverage going his way, but their first-round exit spelled out how serious a problem this could be. Drew Brees needs more weapons at wide receiver, and Sean Payton has to recognize that.

While this is a draft class loaded with talent at that position, we shouldn’t expect the Saints to sit on their hands and wait for a rookie hopeful to drop to them in April. Their strategy for nearly two decades has consisted of filling roster holes through free agency so that they can go into the draft targeting the best players available. To that end, we’ve ranked a dozen possible free agents who fit the Saints’ needs, though maybe not their budget. Each tier is broken down by expected contract values.

Bank-Breakers ($10 million-plus per year)

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
  • Amari Cooper, Dallas Cowboys
  • Robby Anderson, New York Jets
  • A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals
  • Emmanuel Sanders, San Francisco 49ers

Each of these players should command double-digit salaries. They’ve proven themselves to be number-one receiving threats who can make plays in the NFL, even though they each bring their own challenges. Sanders and Cooper have to be seen as favorites to re-sign with their current squads, given how integral they’ve been to their recent success; it would take a serious recruiting effort by the Saints to land Cooper on even a one-year contract beneath his market value. And the 49ers didn’t trade multiple draft picks to acquire Sanders just to let him walk away uncontested in free agency.

As for Green: he missed the entire 2019 season with injuries and it’s possible the Bengals want to retain him as their go-to target for Joe Burrow, the rookie quarterback they’re inevitably set to draft first-overall. Conversely, Anderson played more snaps than any other free agent wide receiver (944) and curiously isn’t part of the Jets’ long-term plans, despite his quick chemistry with young passer Sam Darnold. There could be some off-field shenanigans at play here, which the Saints should be wary of.

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How Patriots’ pass-catchers are handling the intense scrutiny

The narrative around Tom Brady and the New England Patriots offense has changed rapidly. Here’s how the WRs and TEs are responding.

Before the Baltimore Ravens beat up the New England Patriots on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 9, Tom Brady was leading the top-scoring offense in the NFL. There was some skepticism surrounding the unit. They had an easy schedule, and New England was handing it to their bad opponents.

But the narrative around New England shifted in that Week 9 loss.

The Patriots’ schedule has gotten challenging over the last few weeks, and in turn, their offense is skidding. For the first three quarters against the Houston Texans, the Patriots struggled mightily to move the ball, which was a continuation of the issues against the Eagles, the Cowboys and the Ravens. As the loss to the Texans wound down, Brady and New England began to put up points and yardage, but that was largely because of Houston’s relaxed (and perhaps way-too-casual) approach on defense.

Even with all their weaknesses, the Patriots (10-2) are still Super Bowl contenders. But their talent at pass-catcher seems to be lacking. At least, that has been the narrative over these last few weeks.

“We’re used to it, so it doesn’t really matter,” receiver Phillip Dorsett told Patriots Wire on Wednesday. “(It’s) business as usual. We understand. We get it. We’re used to it.”

Dorsett is no stranger to harsh criticism directed at the receiver group. Last season after four weeks, New England was thought to be in a dire situation at 2-2 with one of the least productive receiving groups in the NFL. But Julian Edelman returned from suspension and Rob Gronkowski began to play better. You may have heard: The Patriots went on to win a Super Bowl.

This year, Gronk isn’t coming back. And Edelman has been with them for the entire year, even if he is playing through injuries. New England isn’t likely to get a boost. If the Patriots offense is going to improve, the group will do so with what they have: Edelman, Dorsett, James White, Mohamed Sanu, Jakobi Meyers, N’Keal Harry and others.

“One thing my mom told me when I was a little kid: Things are never going as good as you think they are and they’re never as bad as you think they are,” Meyers said at his locker on Wednesday. “So as long as we just keep that mindset, we’ll be alright. … Losing doesn’t really sit too well around here. That’s what I learned pretty early. They tell you, losing is just not tolerated. So I just try to pick it back up and keep momentum going.”

Meyers took comfort in constructive criticism this week. The coaches broke down the Patriots loss into the fine details: a botched route assignment, poor technique on the break, bad use of leverage. Those little adjustments could be the difference between and win and a loss.

“The one thing we’re not satisfied about but not happy about is that it’s on us,” he said. “Things we’ve been doing have been results from our bad technique or fundamentals or things that can be fixed. … We control it. It’s our job to fix it. I think we’ve got a room full of motivated guys and we’re going to fix it.”

Meyers is among the Patriots with upside. New England knows what it has in Edelman and White — they’re excellent and reliable players. But when Houston doubled Edelman and put a cornerback on White, the Texans forced the Patriots to use their other skill players. And those players weren’t quite productive enough for a win. If the Patriots offense is going to turn a corner, they will see improved performances from Meyers, Harry and others like tight end Matt LaCosse. They’ve done very little so far, but could be bigger parts of the game plan going forward.

“We’ve got a lot of games left to plays and we’ll see how we do down the stretch,” LaCosse said. “It’s good to be out there. It’s good to be able to do multiple things for this offense. Whatever they ask me to do, that’s what I’m going to do.”

The Patriots are blocking out the noise, as usual. They’re trying to get better every day, as usual. And they’re unfazed by the criticism, as usual. It is unusual, however, for their offense to struggle so significantly at this time of year. Will they turn things around by the playoffs, as usual?

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Mohamed Sanu, Phillip Dorsett among active players for Patriots-Texans

Only two players will miss the Patriots game on Sunday night due to illness.

Despite having 17 players questionable for Sunday night with an illness, the New England Patriots will head into their matchup with the Houston Texans considerably healthy.

The Patriots also will bring back receivers Mohamed Sanu and Phillip Dorsett, who missed Week 12 with injuries. The most significant players to miss the game include Jason McCourty and Ryan Izzo. J.C. Jackson will start again at cornerback and rookie Joejuan Williams will likely see more time on the defensive side. Ben Watson and Matt LaCosse will the team’s tight ends for the night.

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Mohamed Sanu, Phillip Dorsett, Jason McCourty inactive for Week 12 vs. Cowboys

A rough situation at WR.

The New England Patriots will be without two of their top wideouts for Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 12.

Receivers Mohamed Sanu (ankle) and Phillip Dorsett (concussion) will not play. The Patriots will instead look to their rookie receivers in N’Keal Harry, a 2019 first-round pick who missed the first half of the season with an ankle injury, and Jakobi Meyers, who went undrafted. Both players seem to be coming along slowly.

Tackle Isaiah Wynn will make his return from injury, which is likely to bump Marshall Newhouse out of the left tackle spot. Wynn, who the Patriots drafted in the first round in 2018, hasn’t played since Week 2                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           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Safety Patrick Chung is also making his return after missing Week 11.

The rest of the Patriots’ inactives are as follows: offensive lineman Korey Cunningham, running back Damien Harris, quarterback Cody Kessler, cornerback Jason McCourty and tight end Ryan Izzo. McCourty is another surprise — he cropped up on the injury report with a groin injury on Friday when he was limited in practice.

Here’s a look at the Cowboys’ inactives, which include star linebacker Leighton Vander Esch.

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With injuries at WR, Patriots will rely on rookies N’Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers

The Patriots will head into Week 12 with a depleted wide receiving corps. 

The New England Patriots will head into Week 12 with a depleted wide receiving corps.

New England has struggled with depth at wide receiver all season, but the addition of Mohamed Sanu shored up some uncertainties. That was until he sustained an ankle injury in Week 11 that could potentially keep him sidelined for a couple of weeks. He’s heading into the Patriots’ Week 12 matchup as a game-time decision, and veteran wideout Phillip Dorsett was ruled out.

This leaves the Patriots with Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers and Matthew Slater. Considering the fact that Slater will primarily play special teams – the Patriots will only have three active wide receivers if Sanu can’t go. Edelman is the only player in this unit with over 200 receiving yards this season, and he’s the only one to truly have Tom Brady’s trust.

As an undrafted rookie, Meyers has put together 15 catches for 179 yards so far this season. He hasn’t played a major role in the offense, but he’s showed reliability when his number has been called. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, Meyers provides a big and reliable target for Brady, but experience isn’t on his side heading into this marquee matchup.

Harry is finally healthy and ready to make an impact for the Patriots, but he doesn’t have enough talent around to free him up. He’ll get more attention from the Cowboys’ secondary, and it’ll be a test to see if his first-round talent can translate to a big game. In Harry’s NFL debut last week, he was able to pull in three catches for 18 yards.

Not only will the Patriots battle a lack of depth, they’ll also contend against the weather conditions. The game will be sloppy and full of rain, so it’ll be that much more difficult for these young receivers.

The Patriots will likely rely on the rushing attack in these conditions, while hoping for some big plays from their young guys.

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Phillip Dorsett returns to Patriots practice in Week 12

A good sign for the WRs.

New England Patriots receivers Mohamed Sanu and Phillip Dorsett were present for the media portion of practice on Thursday during Week 12 ahead of the team’s game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Dorsett (concussion) was a limited participant while Sanu (ankle) didn’t participate, the team announced Thursday.

Sanu and Dorsett missed practice on Wednesday. While Sanu might miss a few weeks, according to NBC Sports Boston, there’s some optimism that Dorsett could return for Week 12, according to The Athletic. Sanu and Dorsett are behind just Julian Edelman on the depth chart. Their absences on Sunday would be significant, and would thrust rookie receivers N’Keal Harry and Jakobi Meyers into significantly increased roles.

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The Patriots run a double-pass trick play for TD against Eagles

Julian Edelman manages to throw for a touchdown.

Julian Edelman seemed concerned that receiver Mohamed Sanu, a gifted high school quarterback, might supplant Edelman as the team’s trick-play specialist. Edelman was the quarterback at Kent State, and has been a key thrower for trick plays in New England. (See: the playoffs in 2015 when Edelman targeted Danny Amendola for a touchdown.)

But Sanu’s arrival hasn’t kept the Patriots from using Edelman’s arm. During Week 11 at Lincoln Financial Stadium, the Patriots ran a double-pass trick play from Tom Brady to Edelman to Philip Dorsett. On the 15-yard line on a third-and-10, Edelman swung wide into the flat, where he caught the ball and found Dorsett open in the middle of the end zone.

The Eagles famously ran the “Philly Philly” trick play in Super Bowl LII. That play helped Philadelphia come away with a win over New England. But the Patriots managed to pull off a revenge play of sorts.

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