How do the Patriots address the absence of Julian Edelman

Chris Lehan
Aug 28, 2017 · 3 min read
via CSNNE

The Patriots just lost Julian Edelman for the season in case you have been looking under a rock. They are left with a clogged WR depth chart. A ton of receivers, some can be trusted while others are unknown. Cooks will still be the WR1, he was that even before the Edelman injury. The next man up would be Chris Hogan who played that role last year and was good in his first year in the Patriots offense. Year two should only see him development further. Hogan plays the role of the field stretcher perfectly here. WR3 is where it gets fishy. The guy would be Amendola. But do you trust him there all season long? For sure he is undeniable in the postseason, but he is injury prone. Playing a whole season at WR3 could be tough for him, he is bound to miss three or four games. During those four games one should be comfortable with Malcolm Mitchell stepping in. Mitchell was solid last season.

Mitchell played in fourteen games while catching thirty-two balls for 401 yards. Now he has the opportunity to step up and make a role for himself. But that will be tough for him. Mitchell has been limited to individual work during training camp so far. And there could be reason to believe he might start the season on the PUP list. If that is the case, chaos. Are you going to rely on unproven receivers like Devin Lucien who couldn’t make the final roster in years past or UDFA rookie Austin Carr? They both are talented, they would be better suited for the fifth or sixth slot on the depth chart, not the fourth where they will get a decent amount of playing time. Are they ready for fourty to fifty targets this season? Probably not to be honest.

People in New England have been hyping up Austin Carr this preseason and rightfully so, he has been good. But the Patriots cannot rely on him so much so early.

If Malcolm Mitchell does start the season on the PUP, Bill needs to make a move to get outside help at receiver. Jarvis Landry? Possibly. Michael Lombardi of The Ringer (classic) says they will listen to offers on the WR. Doug Kyed of NESN made a good point about this last night on twitter.

Why not do that? A rental to get you through the season without Edelman. It wouldn’t cost you much at all. Gotta give something to get something.

That is fun to think about but in all seriousness, it won’t happen.

Keshawn Martin just got released, if you’d think the Patriots would be interested in that. Actually, him and Tim Wright got cut from the Lions in the same tweet.

A couple other outside options are Stevie Johnson and Vincent Jackson. The Patriots had interest in Johnson not too long ago and both would be nice here. Veterans looking for rings and would sign for little. Both would take on minimal roles, like I said they are gonna look for a fringe third/ fourth receiver. Both fit that role.

If Mitchell starts the season not on the PUP, role with Cooks, Hogan, Amendola, Mitchell, and Carr. Then you’d probably have Lucien on the practice squad in case something happens.

This is a very talented group that Brady will be great with. Add in the fact of Gronk and Dwayne Allen at TE. Then White, Lewis, Burkhead, Gillislee, and maybe DJ Foster if they want more of him for some reason. The amount of two RB sets McDaniels can use in place of some four WR sets will be interesting. They have four capable starting RBs.

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