New England Patriots: Revisiting Preseason Predictions
By Hal Bent
WIDE RECEIVER DEPTH STILL UP-IN-THE-AIR:
I SAID THEN:
With a report from Albert Breer of MMQB.com (formerly of the NFL Network and the Boston Globe) that Aaron Dobson is being shopped around the league, it would appear that Dobson is not the roster lock he may have thought he was during training camp when Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola and Malcolm Mitchell were all not practicing due to injury…It also begs the question of whether there is a surprise addition to the roster beyond Edelman, Mitchell, Hogan, Amendola and Keshawn Martin.
Edelman should be ready to go and Hogan seems ready to go, but Mitchell and Amendola are huge question marks heading into September simply because they have been unable to practice or play recently…(Chris) Harper has been reliable so far in the preseason but failed to make many memorable plays so far to make his case to stick on the 53-man roster. Devin Lucien was drafted in the seventh-round and at six-foot-two and 200 pounds has NFL size. Known for great hands in his one year at Arizona State, he blew a big chance in the first preseason game against New Orleans when he dropped a long pass in the end zone after pushing off and being flagged for offensive pass interference. That seemed to slow the momentum he had built up in training camp and he is on the outside looking in now.
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I SAY NOW:
Called it on Harper and Lucien–not that it was a tough call. I did think that Keshawn Martin was a lock to stay on the roster and his release was a surprise. He did catch on in San Francisco for a while before being released to make room for…Chris Harper. Dobson was released after getting no trade interest. He was signed, released, re-signed, and released again by the Lions and never caught on with another team.
The surprise addition of another receiver did not take place at the beginning of the season as Edelman, Amendola, Hogan, and Mitchell were all ready to go. Only at the end of the season did New England make a splash at the position claiming Michael Floyd after his release from Arizona following being found passed out and under the influence in December.