4 Patriots tumbling down depth charts during the preseason
By Mike Luciano
1. QB Cam Newton
Let’s be very clear: Cam Newton is still the starter and Mac Jones is the backup. However, the switch will happen at some point in the near future, and Newton hasn’t done much to delay that swap until the 2022 season. His accuracy issues and struggles pushing the ball have once again manifested, leaving him closer to departing the starting role than ever.
Newton’s average depth of target against Washington was less than one yard, and the fact that he followed that so-so performance up with some duds in practice against Philadelphia should do little to calm down the anti-Cam haters in New England and elsewhere.
To my point, #Eagles DB K’Von Wallace yelled at QB Cam Newton during one portion of 7-on-7s, calling him, “Checkdown king!” after back to back short passes to the RBs. Guess what happened on the next play? Same thing. #Patriots https://t.co/UGdGyIjh8w
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) August 17, 2021
Patriots QB Cam Newton needs to be more aggressive in the air.
Jones looked more poised at times, getting the ball out accurately and on time. Newton is clearly capable of doing that given his pedigree, but he needs to show that time has not blunted his effectiveness in that regard. If he keeps struggling, it’ll be time for Mac in the near future.
The Patriots should be as aggressive as possible against Philadelphia. Let Newton air it out and show off the full range of his arm talent. It could give the Patriots a more accurate sense of what Newton has left in the tank.
