By Jordan Long
The New England Patriots are looking at ways to be a more explosive team on offense. Quarterback Tom Brady is missing a large target since tight end Rob Gronkowski retired. New England met with running back T.J. Yeldon and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas this week.
Yeldon is not a bad pick to add to the team. He improves the depth at the running back position if the Patriots decide to offer him a contract. Yeldon would be competing with James White, Rex Burkhead, Sony Michel, and Brandon Bolden for a roster spot.
Yeldon hasn’t been very productive in his NFL career. In 51 games in 4 years with Jacksonville, Yeldon rushed for 1,872 yards. He has yet to play a full NFL season. The only time he came close was in 2016 appearing in 15 games. Jacksonville didn’t use him that much last year on offense since they had Leonard Fournette as the main running back. He would be a decent backup running back who could protect Brady when he is in the game as well as run the football to give the other running backs rest. New England might pass since that is not a position of need.
New England could use another wide receiver. They have Julian Edleman, but after that the receiving core is weak. Demaryius Thomas can play the #2 wide receiver position, taking pressure off of Edleman to be open for Brady. His size at 6 foot 3 inches gives Brady a large target to throw to. This makes it difficult for defenders to knock the ball away from him, allowing Thomas to gain yards for 1st downs or longer.
The downside with adding Demaryius Thomas is his recent injury. He is recovering from a torn Achilles that he suffered late in the 2018 season. Thomas may not be ready for training camp and who knows when he would suit up. It could be a wasted contract.
The Patriots might pass on both Yeldon and Thomas at this point. They are preparing for the NFL Draft which is on April 25th. If they feel they didn’t address the running back or wide receiver position during the draft, they could offer them a deal. Then again other teams could also show interest in these players. t
Leave a Reply