Patriots kick-off 2016 in 83 days: Profiling No. 83 Martellus Bennett
Welcome to another installment in Musket Fire’s annual jersey number-dictated New England Patriots kick-off countdown series. For the duration of the summer, we will be profiling the player whose jersey number corresponds with the number of days left until the New England Patriots open the season against the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 11. Since today marks 83 days until the Sunday Night Football opener, we are profiling No. 83, veteran tight end Martellus Bennett.
Size: 6-foot-6, 248 pounds
College: Texas A&M
2015 stats: 53 receptions, 439 yards, three touchdowns
NFL experience: Eight seasons
Hometown: Houston, TX
If you’ve been reading the content here on Musket Fire, you know that there is no shortage of excitement surrounding Bennett entering the 2016 season. Certainly, it’s easier to get pumped about Bennett playing second fiddle to Rob Gronkowski than it was this time last year after the Patriots had acquired Scott Chandler (needless to say, the Chandler experiment did not turn out).
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What makes the addition of Bennett especially scary is the sheer wealth of other weapons around him in the Patriots’ aerial attack. It’s very likely that Bennett will be faced with a manageable coverage matchup just about every week considering the attention that defenses must divert toward stopping Gronk and Julian Edelman and whoever else is hot on a given week.
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While Bennett’s 8.3 yards per catch average last year wasn’t anything special, keep in mind that the veteran tight end is just two years removed from a stat line of 90 receptions, 916 yards and six scores. A reasonable production target for Bennett in 2016 reads something along the lines of 60 receptions, 700 yards and six touchdowns.
Recent installments in Patriots kick-off countdown profile series:
84 days – No. 84 Nate Washington
87 days – No. 87 Rob Gronkowski
While Bennett’s 8.3 yards per catch average last year wasn’t anything special, keep in mind that the veteran tight end is just two years removed from a stat line of 90 receptions, 916 yards and six scores. A reasonable production target for Bennett in 2016 reads something along the lines of 60 receptions, 700 yards and six touchdowns.
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It will be interesting to see how the Patriots utilize Bennett’s receiving ability in addition to Gronk, Edelman, Danny Amendola, James White, Dion Lewis and so on. Fantasy football owners should definitely look into plucking Bennett in addition to Gronk to have the scariest handcuff in their league.
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Be sure to stop by Musket Fire tomorrow morning as we mark 82 days until the Patriots open 2016 by profiling the owner of the No. 82 jersey, wide receiver Keshawn Martin.