Check-In With the New England Patriots: Wide Receiver

One of the most heavily-stacked positions on the Patriots’ roster in recent seasons has been wide receiver.

It seems that ever since our deer-in-the-headlights friend Reche Caldwell made those two huge drops against the Colts in the AFC Championship game, Bill Belichick has been hell-bent on making sure nothing like that ever happens again.

My love affair with this year’s starting group has been well accounted for in previous articles, but now, I look to go in-depth with the entire group.

This fleet of wide receivers figures to be the most formidable group in the AFC. There’s no team as stacked at one position from top to bottom as the Patriots are at wide receiver.

The potential matchup problems are uncountable. The different ways these receivers can be utilized are potentially unstoppable. Whispers have already begun about the possibility of Tom Brady repeating his 2007 statistical season with this fleet of wide receivers.

The top three receivers—Joey Galloway, Wes Welker, and Randy Moss—averaged 1,227 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2007. Even without Moss skewing those numbers, Welker and Galloway alone average out to 1,095 yards and seven touchdowns.

Free agent pick-up Galloway had a down season last year, as he was injured in Week Nine. For three seasons prior to that, Galloway recorded at least 1,000 yards and six touchdown grabs. If he can return to his form from those three seasons, he could be another option to stretch the field for New England.

Moss’ production went down drastically this past year, but that was to be expected after the 2007 regular season record-setting pandemonium that he and Brady wreaked on every team they played. He’s also been drawing a lot of double coverage, but with the addition of Galloway to the offense, safeties will have to respect multiple deep threats and won’t have the luxury of covering Moss with two or three defensive backs.

His dip in statistical production could be a red flag that he’s growing old and losing a step, but I would attribute it more to the incredible amount of double-teams he drew all season long in addition to last year’s starter Matt Cassel’s lack of arm strength.

Last but not least, there’s the ever-productive Welker. The “Slot Machine” was fairly pedestrian before joining New England, but has exploded in his two seasons with the Patriots. He’s hauled in 223 receptions for 2,240 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s been a mark of consistency, with one reception and 10 yards the difference between his two seasons.

Enough from Captain Obvious, though. The Patriots have a logjam of wide receivers at the moment, and it's anyone’s guess who will round out the bottom of the depth chart come September.

With the rampant popularity of the Wildcat formation last year, Julian Edelman may become a name New England fans hear a lot of this coming season. He was a quarterback at Kent State, and performed quite well from that position. Belichick loves players who perform well on special teams, and Edelman served as both a punter and a punt returner for the Golden Flashes. He is a similar player to Josh Cribbs, another Kent State quarterback who was an extremely versatile athlete.

They grabbed free agent wide receiver Greg Lewis, who I feel could be either underrated or overrated depending on how you look at it. He and Sam Aiken, a hold-over back-up from last season, seem to fall into that same group. Their stats are nothing to gawk at, so those who think they could break out might be expecting too much; however, those same low stats may be reason to believe in them as a breakout candidate in 2009.

As usual, Belichick got wily in the draft. He moved around the board, and added UNC wide receiver Brandon Tate in the third round. He is a dynamic receiver, and his progress was helped by having the chance to play opposite Hakeem Nicks. He might be my favorite offseason addition at wide receiver.

In fact, Tate was playing just as well as Nicks before an injury sidelined him for the last seven games of his senior season. Before that, he had 66 receptions for 1,213 yards and 18 scores in 15 contests.

Of course, there’s always the stigma that follows rookie wide-outs, but with his size, he could develop into a viable option in the slot over the season, especially if he and Brady develop rapport. The great news is, even if he doesn’t produce in 2009, he could pay off in spades down the road. He was highly regarded by his training staff in college; they worked with both Reggie Wayne and Michael Irvin, whose college careers were both cut short by similar injuries.

With so many receivers at their disposal, it’s tough to say who will make the roster. Whoever it may be, Belichick will field the best group of receivers and bring the best out of them.