Opening day countdowns are great. So are player profiles. Here at Musket Fire, we decided to combine them and create a Week 1 countdown-oriented, jersey number-dictated player profile series. A few days ago, we looked at No. 90 Zach Moore, and the day before that it was No. 92 Malcom Brown. Because today marks 88 days until the New England Patriots open 2015, we are profiling No. 88, tight end Scott Chandler.
You may have heard that the Patriots signed Chandler in free agency. For a complete list of all the Patriots’ offseason additions and subtractions, click here.
It’s nice to have Chandler on the good side after he gave the Patriots headaches for years as a member of the Buffalo Bills. In fact, it seemed like Chandler always played his best against the Patriots. In Week 6 last season, for example, Chandler torched the Pats for 105 yards on six catches.
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Taken by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Drafted, Chandler has been all over the NFL, from the Cowboys to the Giants and back to Dallas again before settling in with the Bills in 2010.
Standing at 6-foot-7, Chandler is impossible to miss on the field. In fact, he looks down on the 6-foot-6 Rob Gronkowski. Only Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer, both 6-foot-8, inch Chandler in height on the Patriots’ roster.
Chandler’s towering frame should serve him well playing alongside Gronkowski. You can bet that he will make hay in the red zone, as opposing defenses will often be too preoccupied with Gronk to allocate enough resources in Chandler’s directions. Expect Chandler to match recently released Tim Wright’s 2014 production of five touchdowns.
NESN.com’s Doug Kyed tells us that Chandler turned a lot of heads at OTAs, catching just about everything thrown his way and complementing Gronkowski nicely. All indications point toward Chandler having a consistent role in the Patriots’ aerial attack this upcoming season.
In case you missed them, here are the profiles for No. 93 Jabaal Sheard, No. 94 Chris jones No. 95 Chandler Jones, No. 96 Sealver Siliga, No. 97 Alan Branch, No. 98 Antonio Johnson and No. 99 Dominique Easley.
Check back on Musket Fire tomorrow morning as we celebrate 87 days until Patriots kick-off by profiling No. 87, superman tight end Rob Gronkowski.