Rookie watch: which Patriots rookie had the biggest impact in week six?

Injuries in the NFL can be crippling for most teams especially if they come at key positions. You then have to rely on your depth and often times that depth can be rookies who aren’t quite ready to handle the big stage. Fortunately for the Patriots, their rookies have been up to the task and have helped the team climb back to .500. Jack Jones has made the most of his opportunities as Jalen Mills and Jonathan Jones have missed time. Bailey Zappe has filled in admirably for an injured Mac Jones, stirring a quarterback controversy and causing an entire region to come down with a fever. This week, injuries to Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne provided Tyquan Thornton with his opportunity and the rookie wideout became the latest to take advantage. Here is how Thornton, Zappe, Jones and the rest of the rookies performed in the win over the Browns.

Tyquan Thornton, A

Thornton seemed to figure into the equation once Agholor was ruled out before Sunday’s game, but he was really thrust into the action once Bourne went down with a toe injury after only four snaps. Thornton shined in his 40 snaps as the Patriots moved him around to use him in different ways. In the passing game, he was targeted five times, hauling in four passes for 37 yards and his first career touchdown. Three of those four receptions resulted in first downs.

Thornton also ran the ball three times with the highlight coming on a 19-yard touchdown run to help seal the victory. We knew of Thornton’s speed coming into the season but it’s good to see the Patriots coaching staff use that speed in different ways and should be something to watch going forward.

Bailey Zappe, A-

In last week’s game against the Lions, Zappe acted more like a game manager as the offense relied mostly on the running game. Cleveland actually did a nice job of limiting the run and putting the pressure on Zappe to beat them. The end result was 309 passing yards and two touchdowns as the rookie quarterback had the best game of his young career. Zappe took what the defense gave him but also made some great throws while showing good pocket awareness. The one negative was an intentional grounding that Zappe took in the fourth quarter which made Nick Folk’s field goal attempt longer than it needed to be.

Jack Jones, B+

There was no interception this week for Jones but he was still a factor in pass coverage, only allowing two receptions on six targets with one pass breakup. Jones did a good job limiting the damage as he only allowed five yards after the catch as his tackling continues to improve. Opponents have only completed 11/24 passes Jones’ way and quarterbacks have a rating of 33.7.

Cole Strange, B

It’s mostly good when you don’t hear an offensive lineman’s name during a broadcast as they are usually brought up only after surrendering a sack or committing a penalty. Once again, Strange did neither as his pass protection continues to steadily improve and he remains the lone Patriots lineman without a penalty. The run game was quiet for most of the afternoon but Strange was able to provide a key block on Rhamondre Stevenson’s 31-yard touchdown run.

Marcus Jones, B

Another guy who made the most of an opportunity with Jonathan Jones out as Marcus Jones saw 34 snaps (49%) after seeing only 19 total snaps through the first five games. Jones was beat for a 37-yard completion but that was the only catch he allowed in three targets. He seemed to have come down with his first career interception, but the referees ruled him out of bounds and Patriots coach Bill Belichick did not challenge. In the kicking game, Jones returned three punts for 35 yards and two kicks for 39 yards.

Brenden Schooler, B

Schooler was again in the right place at the right time as he was able to recover a muffed punt late in the fourth quarter. The Patriots scored immediately afterwards to seal the win and Schooler gains extra credit for trying to give Belichick a game ball with four minutes to go. One negative, Schooler was part of the unit that messed up the onsides kick which fortunately they got a break on when Cleveland touched the ball out of bounds.

Sam Roberts, B-

Roberts saw extended action after Christian Barmore went down with an injury in the first half and ended up playing 22 snaps. He was part of the Patriots defensive line that held the Cleveland running game in check and contributed one tackle.

Kevin Harris, C

The rookie running back saw his first action of the year and finished with 5 yards on three carries, spelling Stevenson without Damien Harris to back him up. If Damien Harris can’t go on Monday, it will be interesting to see if Kevin Harris receives more touches.

Pierre Strong, C-

Strong finally saw some action on the offensive side of the ball but it was a very limited role with only four snaps. Strong did carry the ball once for five yards but still has not been able to gain a more prominent role with the injuries to Harris and Ty Montgomery.

DaMarcus Mitchell, C-

Mitchell was back on the field but 18 of his 23 snaps came on special teams. He was also involved in the rough onsides kick, but I blame that more on coaching than him. He did record his first tackle of the season.

Chasen Hines, Incomplete

Hines once again dressed but did not see any game action.