New England Patriots sign Aaron Dobson
Finally, some good news regarding the New England Patriots, as the Pats have signed their final unsigned 2013 NFL Draft pick in wide receiver Aaron Dobson. The Patriots plucked Dobson in the late second-round of the draft, and he was their second pick in the draft overall, but he was also the last one to sign his deal. That sort of stuff happens and doesn’t correlate with much, so the bottom line is that it is great to have Dobson on board on a standard, four-year rookie contract. The Patriots can now rest easy on this front- if there was ever any worry on that front- after signing Dobson, and now the next task for Dobson is to adjust to the NFL.
New England Patriots rookie Aaron Dobson speaks to the media during rookie minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Dobson has a big job to perform as a rookie, and the New England Patriots organization is expecting quite a bit from the second-round pick out of Marshall. The Pats elected to release Brandon Lloyd instead of picking up his $3 million option after a mediocre year, and that’s largely because Lloyd didn’t perform as a true No. 1 receiver. New England needs a true No. 1 guy on the outside to take pressure off of the middle of the field, and Dobson is expected to come on and be the “X” receiver for the Patriots.
Those are high expectations for a rookie, and he had a rough start with plenty of adjustments in OTAs and minicamp. No wide receiver dropped more passes than Dobson in workouts, and he seemed slow to get on the same page as Tom Brady in the offense. That’s okay, though, because he’s just a rookie, and it will only be a concern for the Patriots if Dobson can’t get on the same page by the end of training camp.
Brady usually gets on the same page with his receivers during the middle of training camp, but Danny Amendola is definitely an outlier. He has seemingly developed a sixth sense with Brady. The New England Patriots really need Dobson to pick up the ropes and have a successful rookie campaign, because the future of Aaron Hernandez is in doubt, and there is a chance that the Patriots end up placing Rob Gronkowski on the PUP.