New England Patriots receiving corp ranked highly by Bleacher Report
The New England Patriots receiving corps were ranked very highly by the people over at Bleacher Report.
The New England Patriots have as dangerous an offense as any team in the NFL. New England is loaded both on the field and on the coaching staff on that side of the ball.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is regarded as one of the best offensive minds in the game. Bill Belichick is an all-world head coach. Combine those two with arguably the greatest quarterback to ever play the game in Tom Brady and New England has an embarrassment of riches offensively.
With those three in place, the Patriots already have an advantage over more other teams. However, their skill position players are very talented as well.
New England lost wide receivers Danny Amendola and Brandin Cooks this offseason. Amendola signed with the Miami Dolphins in free agency, while Cooks was traded to the Los Angeles Rams. Despite that, the Patriots still have a ton of talent.
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Wide receivers Julian Edelman and Malcolm Mitchell are both returning from injury. They should more than adequately replace the departed Amendola and Cook. In addition, the Patriots also traded for Cordarrelle Patterson. Chris Hogan is still on the roster as well, giving Brady quite a receiving group.
Veterans Jordan Matthews and Kenny Britt are also on the team. Braxton Berrios was drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft and is liked by plenty of people. Former first-round pick Phillip Dorsett is also on the roster, but his spot could be in jeopardy.
At tight end, the Patriots have one of the best ever in Rob Gronkowski. Along with Gronkowski, the Patriots also have Dwayne Allen, Troy Niklas, Jacob Hollister, Will Tye and the seventh-round pick, Ryan Izzo.
While Gronkowski is probably the only superstar, that is a very solid group. So solid that Bleacher Report actually ranks the Patriots No. 1 on their receiving corps rankings.
New England beat out the Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants and Kansas City Chiefs, who round out the top-five.
Here is part of what was said over at Bleacher Report about the Patriots being ranked No. 1.
"We’re looking at the league’s best receiving coprs here. No collection of pass-catchers works better together as a group, and Brady, McDaniels and Bill Belichick are the pieces that put it over the top."
Having arguably the most dominant player in the history of the league at his position, as the Patriots have in Gronkowski, really helps their cause. While they lack a true star wide receiver as the other teams in the top-five have, the Patriots group is as deep as any team has in the league.
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Brady and company should once again field one of the best offenses in the NFL. After finishing with the second-best passing attack in the NFL in 2017, it would not be a surprise if New England ranks that high again, especially if their skill position players remain healthy in 2018.