5 New England Patriots Players Who Should See Their Roles Expand in 2015
"Next man up."
It's a philosophy every team claims to live by, but only a few teams can actually carry it out with any level of effectiveness. For years, the New England Patriots have lived and died by this philosophy, and instead of making wholesale changes every time someone leaves, they simply plug and play.
This year, things could be a little different.
After losing cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner to free agency, the Patriots may need to make some dramatic changes to what they are doing on defense. Instead of an aggressive man-coverage scheme, they may be more well-suited to a zone-heavy scheme that takes advantage of the strengths of their current crop of cornerbacks without exposing their weaknesses too much.
But if you think the secondary is the only spot where "next man up" will apply, think again. Here are five guys whose roles should increase, for one reason or another, in 2015.
Duron Harmon
1 of 5
The stage was set in 2014 for a big year for second-year safety Duron Harmon. The Patriots had shored up their secondary at the cornerback spots with two elite cover men, and with veteran Devin McCourty roaming deep at free safety, the strong safety spot was the only one with any real question marks.
Harmon's opportunity evaporated quickly during organized team activities, minicamp and subsequently in training camp when veteran Patrick Chung earned most of the playing time with the first-team defense. Harmon never got a chance to really win that spot back, and he ended up playing a menial role in the defense for much of the season (24.7 percent snap participation, according to ProFootballFocus.com).
That being said, the scheme last year was much different than it will be this year. With so much man coverage underneath, and with McCourty covering deep as a single-high safety, the scheme was more conducive to Chung's skill set, which is more suited to covering short zones and stuffing runs in the box. This year, the Patriots will probably feature more Cover 2, which will allow Harmon to contribute in bigger ways.
If he can continue to improve his angles and tackling technique, Harmon figures to be a key component in the Patriots defense in 2015.
Danny Amendola
2 of 5
When the Patriots signed Danny Amendola to a five-year, $28.5 million contract back in 2013, the hope was that he could be plugged into Wes Welker's slot role and put up the same gaudy numbers that the other undersized Texas Tech product had produced. When injuries struck and a lack of chemistry between Amendola and Tom Brady surfaced that season, some fans were ready to cut bait right away.
Fast forward to the final five games of the 2014 season, where Amendola became an integral piece in the offense, and it appears Amendola is exactly who the Patriots thought he was after all. From Week 16 through the Super Bowl, Amendola caught 23 of 33 passes thrown his way (69.7 percent) for 224 yards and three touchdowns while dropping four passes, according to ProFootballFocus.com.
The Patriots offense may not feature Amendola as a 100-catch player in the way it did with Welker, but Amendola's playing time should increase as the Patriots employ him in the slot and on the boundary in their three-receiver sets.
James White
3 of 5
Running back James White put up huge numbers in Wisconsin's running back-friendly offense, posting 12 touchdowns or more in three of his four seasons playing for the Badgers. He averaged a video game-like 6.2 yards per carry in his career. As a senior, he carried the ball 221 times and put up 1,444 rushing yards (6.5 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns, along with 39 receptions for 300 yards and two more scores.
If he can post even a fraction of that production in 2015, the Patriots may not suffer the ill effects of losing both Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley from their backfield. White is more likely to replace Vereen in the Patriots offense, as he's been lauded for his pass protection and showed some nice breakaway speed while running wheel routes in training camp.
In 2014, White played only 31 snaps and was only active for three games. That may have had something to do with the Patriots' overall depth at running back, which at the time still included Vereen. Now that both Vereen and Ridley are out of the picture, there's a clear path to the top of the depth chart. It's up to White to follow that path.
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Dominique Easley
4 of 5
When the Patriots drafted Dominique Easley in the first round of the 2014 draft, the immediate concern was whether his two surgically repaired knees could hold up. In the end, his season was cut short in Week 14 after he was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.
According to Jeff Howe of The Boston Herald, he wasn't necessarily suffering a setback in his recovery from a season-ending torn ACL in 2013 so much as the Patriots were just trying to "hit the reset button" to ensure he'd be fully ready for 2015.
Well, 2015 is here, and Easley should be ready to go. Now that veteran defensive tackle Vince Wilfork is out of the picture, there may be no better time than now for Easley to seize the moment and live up to the hype of his designation as a first-round draft choice.
According to ProFootballFocus.com, Easley played only 270 snaps on the season, which was only 35.7 percent of the snaps in the games he played. It would be a surprise if that number is anything less than 50 percent in 2015.
Malcolm Butler
5 of 5
No, Malcolm Butler does not only deserve to be a starting cornerback because of his game-clinching interception in the Super Bowl; and no, he does not only deserve the job because Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner skipped town—though their loss has turned out to be his gain.
Butler came on strong in training camp in 2014, earning a starting spot opposite Revis during Browner's six-game suspension to start the season. He steadily improved over the course of the season, playing a big role in a midseason clash with the Denver Broncos (five completions on nine passes thrown his way and two pass breakups, per ProFootballFocus.com).
On the season, he yielded only 17 completions on 33 targets (51.5 percent) with two touchdowns, one interception and six pass breakups. He may not be the second coming of Revis Island, but he can be a serviceable starting cornerback if given the opportunity.
He will be duking it out with Logan Ryan, Alfonzo Dennard and Kyle Arrington over who will be starting in the Patriots' secondary. Given the way he played last summer, he has as good a shot as anyone to walk away with a starting spot.
All training camp observations made firsthand.
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