New England Patriots: 3 Potential Breakout Players on Offense in 2016
By Hal Bent
Martellus Bennett:
Last year the New England Patriots addressed their need for tight end depth by signing free agent Scott Chandler. Unfortunately, the move did not work out as Chandler had just 23 catches for 259 yards and four touchdowns. The promise of training camp gave way to far too many drops early on and a knee injury that all but eliminated him from the offense down the stretch. Chandler was released and his career is in jeopardy after offseason knee surgery.
Rather than give up on the two-tight end offense after another misfire, the Patriots went out and traded for Martellus Bennett. Unlike former tight end Aaron Hernandez, Bennett is an accomplished blocker with size and excellent speed for a tight end. He was Pro Bowl selection in 2014 but injuries and ineffectiveness in Chicago limited him to just 53 catches for 439 yards and three touchdowns.
With Gronkowski and Bennett the Patriots have two tight ends who are both six-foot-six, extremely athletic, accomplished route-runners, difficult to tackle, and a match-up nightmare for whatever defense will have to face them. Gronkowski and Bennett have combined for 297 receptions, 3,655 yards and 32 touchdowns since 2014.
Like Gronkowski, Bennett is too tall for an average NFL cornerback to match-up with him; however, both tight ends are far too fast in the open field for a linebacker to stay with them. If New England can find a running back in the NFL Draft, they could be scary on offense because with the six-foot-six and 265 pound Gronkowski joined by the six-foot six and 273 pound Bennett the Patriots have two excellent run-blocking tight ends.
Like the New England offense has done with Gronkowski, the Bears (and Giants before them) featured Bennett running deep seams and then piling up yards-after-the-catch (YAC) with short passes underneath turning into big gains after a broken tackle. Bennett has the possibility of finding himself in favorable matchups with Gronkowski getting the lion’s share of attention from the defense and making some big plays
What the Patriots love with the “12” personnel (two-tight ends) is that it does not show the Patriots’ hand on offense. Either Gronkowski or Bennett can line-up in the slot or outside the numbers to dictate coverages and create even more space for Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola or whoever is on the field as a wide receiver. New England is banking on Bennett being a better fit than Scott Chandler was last season alongside Gronkowski.
Next: Chris Hogan