4 Patriots tumbling down depth charts during the preseason

The New England Patriots started the preseason off in excellent fashion, taking down Ron Rivera and the Washington Football Team in a 22-13 win highlighted by the debut of Mac Jones and a 91-yard touchdown run by rookie Rhamondre Stevenson.

Even though Bill Belichick should feel extremely comfortable with what he saw on both sides of the ball from a general point of view, there are some big holes on this team that remain unfilled, and some players have done poor jobs of trying to fill them over the last few weeks of practice.

Players like Stevenson and Joejuan Williams should be heralded for their performances over the last few weeks, but there were plenty of players on this team that didn’t exactly blow the doors off of the competition in their first showing.

These 4 players might’ve lost some ground in their quest to climb up the depth chart this season. Hopefully, they can turn things around before they have to face off against an Eagles team that likely won’t be competing for a postseason spot this year.

These 4 struggling Patriots are sliding down the depth chart

4. OT Yodny Cajuste

Cajuste was picked in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of West Virginia, and he has given the Patriots zero production in his first two seasons due to injury. Cajuste got back on the field against Washington, and he still looks like a bit of a work in progress based on how he performed.

Cajuste gave up a pressure and a quarterback hit, looking like he was struggling with the speed at which the NFL game operates at times. While he is not going to start due to the presence of Isaiah Wynn at left tackle and Trent Brown at right tackle, this wasn’t the cleanest game from the former Mountaineer.

Patriots OL Yodny Cajuste can’t afford too many bad games like that.

Considering the fact both Wynn and Brown have missed large chunks of time due to injuries over the last few years, making sure that the backup situation is taken care of should be of the utmost importance. Cajuste came out of college as a raw player, and the impact of a lack of snaps at the NFL level is still evident. He remains nearly as raw.

The fact that the Patriots were willing to cut ties with another failed third-round pick in Derek Rivers so quickly shows that Belichick has no problem admitting that certain draft picks are sunk costs. Cajuste needs a strong preseason to rehabilitate his value and get back in Belichick’s good graces.

3. LB Harvey Langi

Tackles might be one of the worst ways to evaluate linebackers, as they don’t take into account the possibility that the player in question was frequently targeted in coverage. That was the case with Langi against Washington, as Ryan Fitzpatrick, Taylor Heinicke, and Steven Montez all picked him apart.

Langi’s 10 tackles led the team, but he was frequently sought out in coverage over the middle, as his lack of great speed and short-area quickness were disappointing. He and Cassh Maluia both had some rough moments, as they did little to challenge the established starters at the top.

Will Harvey Langi make the Patriots?

While the linebacker position is starting to fade away in a passing league leaning more on defenses that feature tons of defensive backs, the Patriots will still find ways to get players like Kyle Van Noy, Dont’a Hightower, and Ja’Whuan Bentley on the field as much as possible. They won’t do that for Langi.

Langi is not some random camp body. He is a five-year veteran with experience in New England’s system and 60 tackles to his name as a starter with the Jets last season. To come out and put up a dud like that, outside of misleading tackle numbers, was a huge disappointment.

2. WR N’Keal Harry

Harry came into training camp with no shortage of controversy following his trade request. All Harry had to do to either get his wish or quiet the noise was go and dominate in the preseason. Unfortunately, it looks like he is still struggling with the finer points of wide receiver play despite the fact he has a bit more spring in his step.

Harry played 36 snaps, which was the most of any wide receiver on the team, but he had just one catch for four yards in the game. With every poor performance, his trade value goes down, as does his chance of somehow jumping above Nelson Agholor or Kendrick Bourne on the depth chart.

N’Keal Harry hasn’t been playing very well for the Patriots…after practice.

Harry should’ve shown that he was way above the backups that Washington threw at him, but he looked just as scattershot and uncertain as he did during his first two seasons in the pros. His chances of sticking long-term in New England are starting to shrink thanks to his performances in the preseason.

He’s got two more chances to prove himself, but the fact that New England added Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry means that they have the luxury of using primarily two tight end sets and leaving Harry on the bench. It’s on the Arizona State product to convince New England that he is worth making room for.

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.

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.

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