New England Patriots: Jordan Matthews will bounce back in 2018

The New England Patriots recently created a void at wide receiver by trading Brandin Cooks. However, the addition of Jordan Matthews could help replace him.

In what was a somewhat shocking move, the New England Patriots recently traded wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a first-round pick. Cooks’ time in New England ended after just one season, but he performed well for New England.

However, entering the last season of his contract, Cooks is going to be paid handsomely soon, and the Patriots generally don’t like to pay wide receivers. Acquiring the first round pick for Cooks is certainly a good deal for the Patriots, as they now have two first-round picks. This gives them a lot of flexibility heading into the draft, as they do have some holes to fill.

While they did get a good return for Cooks, trading him will have an impact on the offense. Last season, Cooks was a great deep threat for the Patriots, as he totaled over 1,000 receiving yards. With both Cooks and Amendola gone, the Patriots’ wide receiving core will look different next season.

Luckily, Julian Edelman is expected to be back at 100 percent for the start of the season. Also, Rob Gronkowski isn’t expected to retire despite him possibly contemplating that this offseason. With Cooks gone, the Patriots recently signed wide receiver Jordan Matthews with the hope of him possibly replacing some of that production.

Matthews was a second-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014 and had three good seasons with the Eagles. He was able to total over 800 receiving yards in each in Philadelphia, and he had 19 touchdowns in those three seasons.

Last season, Matthews was playing for the Buffalo Bills after being traded by the Eagles. In an offense that did throw the ball a whole lot, Matthews had a poor season statistically, as he totaled just 282 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

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As we have seen with Chris Hogan, a wide receiver can thrive leaving Buffalo for New England, and Matthews does have three very productive seasons under his belt with the Eagles. With Tom Brady now going to be throwing the ball to Matthews, he could easily return to the numbers that we saw in Philadelphia. Overall, this was a solid move by the Patriots to try and replace some of the production that they lost by trading Cooks.