Patriots first unofficial depth chart should not concern fans

As the Patriots prepare for their first preseason game of the year against the Panthers on Thursday night, the first (unofficial) depth chart has been released in the team's gameday magazine. At first glance, fans will likely not be pleased with what they see, which isn't a great feeling to have heading into a new era.

Expectations are tempered given the current state of the roster and the expectance that they have a lot of growing to do before becoming a competitive team again.

However, the depth chart doesn't appear to emphasize the players who have shown the most progress and promise on the practice field, therefore initiating concerns regarding the offense in particular.

The list was posted by A to Zo Sports' Sophie Weller, as the page from the magazine broke down each position, including who the starters and their backups were. The focus, of course, is on the offense since they are the weaker side of the team, which immediately prompted criticism.

While those concerns are valid and would be more startling if this were the official depth chart for the regular season, fans should not be worried for a number of reasons, mainly that the coaching staff are not the ones who put together the depth chart for the preseason.

Patriots coaching staff did not put together the unofficial depth chart, so no concerns are needed from fans

In the gameday magazine, the contents of it are put together by PR staff and not the team itself, which includes the coaches. Because of that, the unofficial depth chart, which is the first of the offseason, was not agreed upon by Jerod Mayo or any of the coaches, so it does not reflect how they view the current state of the roster.

It's an important fact, which might not be made clear enough in the magazine, especially when looking at the depth on offense.

While it makes sense for Kendrick Bourne and DeMario Douglas to be the team's WR1 and WR1, beyond that, it becomes questionable. JuJu Smith-Schuster hasn't done anything in practice to validate being Douglas' backup, nor has Kayshon Boutte outplayed Javon Baker to be ahead of him on the depth chart.

The other issue concerns the offensive line. Cole Strange is not expected to play until later in the season, if at all, and the rest of the linemen are far from being solidified in any role, as Mayo has continuously changed up the lineup throughout training camp.

The same could be said about Christian Barmore on defense, as he is dealing with health issues that might prevent him from playing this season, and who might step up in his absence is not yet clear.

Although this isn't the official depth chart and is primarily a guessing game, many fans are unaware of who put the chart together and are worried about what they see. Fortunately, it's not official and the final depth chart will be released once the final roster cuts are made.

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