Phillip Dorsett, WR, New England Patriots
The 2019 campaign could have been so much different for Phillip Dorsett.
Through the first six weeks of the 2019 season Dorsett was almost a focal point of the New England Patriots’ offense. Despite missing New England’s Week 5 contest due to injury, the WR saw 27 targets through those five contests, pulling in 18 passes for 243 yards and four touchdowns.
Over the rest of the season, and into New England’s early exit from the playoffs, Dorsett saw just 31 more targets, with 15 receptions and a single touchdown.
Part of the dropoff was due to what was happening around the New England roster. Take Week 1 for example. During that Sunday night tilt against the Pittsburgh Steelers Dorsett was flanked by Josh Gordon and a healthy Julian Edelman. Then the Patriots added Antonio Brown to the roster for Week 2. What did this create? A lot of situations where Dorsett was lined up against the defense’s third or fourth cornerback.
But down the stretch, things obviously changed. Gordon was in Seattle with the Seahawks. Brown was…let’s just say he was pursuing other interests. Edelman was banged up and seeing double coverage on each snap. That pressed Dorsett into more of a WR2 role, and into less favorable matchups.
Then there was the fact that he never truly got onto the same page with Tom Brady. The “Brady Circle of Trust” is a real thing, and if you make a mistake as a wide receiver, you might find yourself outside looking in, like Squidward watching Spongebob and Patrick through the window:
This perhaps came to a head for Dorsett and another Patriots’ receiver during their loss to the Houston Texans. N’Keal Harry was banished to the sidelines after he failed to fight for the ball on a slant route and it turned into a Pick Six. Then, as broken down by Dan Orlovsky, Dorsett failed to get on the same page with Brady, and it led to frustration from the veteran quarterback:
Been saying this for weeks now for @Patriots offense. Outside of the physical-12 has trust in 1 guy. Edelman. That’s it…and it’s warranted. Watch 👇🏼 below. @MikeGiardi @patspulpit #SNFonNBC #Patriots @RochieWBZ @BenVolin pic.twitter.com/Vf8mbaUqXg
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) December 2, 2019
As such, Dorsett is likely on his way out of town. but having just turned 27, he remains a viable option for a team looking for a WR who can play both in the slot and on the outside. Despite his struggles during the latter half of 2019, Dorsett does have that versatility. He saw 356 outside receiver snaps in 2019, and 191 snaps in the slot. A team that is going to use a high number of multiple receiver formations, such as the Arizona Cardinals, could use Dorsett as part of their 11 and even 10 personnel packages (one running back, four wide receivers and no tight ends) and get Dorsett some favorable matchups either on the boundary or in the slot. Those Cardinals, who used 10 personnel a league-high 205 times last season (they were the only team to use it more than nine percent of the time, running it on 26% of their snaps) could sure use some more wideouts.