New England Patriots: 5 Biggest Storylines Ahead of Training Camp

Mercifully, New England Patriots fans will soon have narratives to follow about subjects that don't end in "-gate."  While the specter of a potential Tom Brady suspension isn't going away anytime soon, the Pats can finally start making tangible on-field progress toward their championship defense.

I did a similar type of pre-camp storyline analysis last week, so we'll change things up a little before training camp officially opens on July 29.  As hard as it is to believe, Deflategate isn't the only topic surrounding the Patriots' preseason.  With significant veteran turnover and a large rookie class, personnel and scheme are at the forefront of non-air pressure-related concerns.

Training camp will provide the Patriots their first chance to answer some of these pressing on-field questions, which should provide a welcome departure from their tempestuous offseason.  We're excluding Deflategate-related topics in this list, because a resolution isn't forthcoming and the Patriots are preparing as if Brady will be available for 16 games. 

With that caveat aside, let's take a look at the biggest question marks the Patriots will try to answer before the regular season.

5. Any Extensions on the Horizon?

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The Patriots don't traditionally extend players during the season, so training camp might provide the final opportunity for a few select players to secure long-term futures in Foxborough.  New England has already struck pre-camp deals with specialists Stephen Gostkowski and Ryan Allen, so who else could be on the docket?

The obvious candidate is left tackle Nate Solder, who is playing under a $7.4 million option the team exercised last year.  Though we can't be sure which players will emerge as offseason priorities after this season, the Patriots' current 2016 free-agent crop looks rather thin beyond Solder:

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As of now at most 3 projected starters (maybe Blount, Solder, maybe Wendell) will become UFAs after this season.

— CapSpace=$10,769,988 (@patscap) July 23, 2015"

That doesn't mean New England will go on a free-agent splurge next March—the trio of Chandler Jones, Dont'a Hightower and Jamie Collins will need new contracts in 2017—but it should allow the Patriots to pour most of their negotiating attention on the Solder camp. 

Solder figures to represent the prize jewel of next year's left tackle free-agent class (assuming the likes of Trent Williams and Anthony Castonzo don't see the market), so it would behoove the Patriots to work out an extension now before the leverage shifts to Solder's camp.

SB Nation's Rich Hill also offered nose tackle Sealver Siliga as an extension candidate, which seems like an intriguing under-the-radar possibility.  Siliga is playing for $660,000 this year, the absolute minimum for a player with his amount of accrued experience. 

Though he's had health issues, Siliga has also been New England's best run-stuffer when healthy, and he would likely agree to a readily affordable contract in exchange for the multiyear security he's never had in his career.

4. Injuries to Monitor

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While there aren't any Rob Gronkowski type of PUP watch lists this year, a few key players could start the season behind the eight ball depending on their injury statuses. 

The unit facing the most immediate concern is linebacker, where Dont'a Hightower and Jerod Mayo both face uncertainty after major offseason surgeries.  There's not a deeper unit on the roster when at full health, but as the Boston Globe notes, the Patriots have likely overstocked the numbers there for camp in the event that one or both aren't ready for the start of the regular season:

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The Patriots have 12 linebackers on the roster, plus four hybrid DE/OLB types in Rob Ninkovich, Chandler Jones, Jabaal Sheard, and Geneo Grissom. This is a reflection of the uncertainty the Patriots face at the position in the early portion of the season, with Hightower’s return following shoulder surgery and Mayo coming off a torn meniscus. There is a wide-open competition for three or four spots (depending on if Hightower begins the season on short-term IR or the Physically Unable to Perform list).

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With Hightower and Mayo unlikely to go full speed for much, if not all, of camp, unheralded prospects like James Morris and Darius Fleming, as well as returning vet Dane Fletcher, could all get valuable reps with the first-stringers.  In addition, a hybrid type like third-round rookie Geneo Grissom could have an opportunity to exhibit his versatility on both the edge and off the ball.

Apart from those two, the Patriots' injury concerns largely center around players nursing lingering maintenance issues from last year, such as Chandler Jones and Dominique Easley.  Given that a lot of these question marks are slanted toward the defense, the depth on that unit as a whole will be an ongoing storyline to follow into September.

3. Easley's Progress

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For all the talent percolating throughout the front seven, Dominique Easley might be the most stylistically unique player on the entire defense.  The 2014 first-rounder was a disappointment his rookie season, but with the possible exception of Chandler Jones, no one else offers Easley's combination of explosiveness off the snap and the ability to line up at a multitude of defensive line techniques.

Earlier this offseason, I highlighted Easley as an overlooked starter who could make good on that predraft hype if his knee issues subside and allow him to recapture that off-the-ball quickness he consistently showed at Florida.  ESPN.com's Mike Reiss recently relayed a similar sentiment, noting that health is the persistent storm cloud shrouding Easley's tantalizing potential:

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Easley is one of the top storylines of camp for me. The 2014 first-round pick contributed last season, but not at the level one would hope for given his draft status. Health was part of that. If healthy and playing up to his potential, he's a starter-level talent and I don't see offseason additions changing that. The Patriots were in sub packages 73.5 percent of the time last season, and I see Easley as a big factor (if healthy) as an interior rusher in those situations.

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Plenty of players have seen injuries dash their careers, and potential won't make the Patriots feel any better about their first-round investment if it goes unrealized. 

Based on Pro-Football-Reference.com's Approximate Value metric, only six first-rounders from 2014 contributed less than Easley during their rookie campaigns.  And most of those players aren't garnering the same level of optimism that Easley has this offseason, unless you're one of the few remaining members of the Johnny Manziel or Marcus Smith bandwagons.

It seems likely that Easley will start out camp with the first-stringers.  There aren't many free lunches in Foxborough, though, even for former first-round picks.  After New England shut him down early to ensure a fully healthy start to 2015, camp will be the start of a put-up-or-shut-up campaign for Easley.

2. Left Guard Battle

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With last season's offense returning mostly intact, the Patriots won't face many questions on that side of the ball.  However, the one gaping hole in the starting lineup exists at left guard, where New England has still yet to replace Logan Mankins nearly 12 months after trading the veteran stalwart.

While Mankins' game is in decline, he looks like John Hannah in terms of pedigree based on what the Pats currently have to trot out.  Rookie Tre' Jackson looms as the most logical choice, but it's unclear if New England is willing to shift him across the line after Jackson spent four years playing right guard for Florida State. 

Jackson will surely get reps at both guard spots to increase his versatility, but having a rookie start while learning a new position seems suboptimal.  Consequently, one early dark horse to crack the starting lineup could be third-year pro Josh Kline, who started four games at guard last season. 

Reiss penciled Kline into the left guard slot during his pre-camp starting projections, and while those are obviously subject to change, it reflects how the team's perception of Kline might not match that of the public's.

Granted, I question whether Kline (6'3", 300 lbs) fits in with offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo's preference for larger, more powerful linemen, such as teammate Jordan Devey (6'6", 320 lbs).  Jackson (6'4", 330 lbs) also fits into the larger body type category. 

Ultimately, while the position itself isn't glamorous, the battle is intriguing because of the highly volatile statuses of players like Kline and Devey, who could either find themselves in the starting lineup or off the roster entirely come September.

1. Who's the Sleeper at Corner?

More than any other position on the roster, cornerback lends itself to a camp surprise surging his way up the depth chart.  That largely stems from the lack of proven talent at the position, of course, but when faced with similar issues in the past, Bill Belichick has proven willing to roll with an unheralded youngster who rises up during the preseason (Alfonzo Dennard in 2012, Kyle Arrington in 2010, etc.).

Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan will receive most of the attention during camp, but neither is a lock to start.  If you've followed Bleacher Report's Patriots coverage in recent months, you'll know I was extremely high on Marshall cornerback Darryl Roberts when New England drafted him in the seventh round. 

The 6'0", 182-pound corner plays with an infectious swagger and fearless on-ball aggressiveness, as Herd defensive coordinator Chuck Heater reinforced in an in-depth profile from the Providence Journal's Mark Daniels:

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He had a swag about him and was always confident. A cool customer, so to speak. And you would like to have that personality in your corner because you’re going to make some plays but won’t make every one of them. You’ve got to be able to get back to the next play, and he had a real ability to forget about the play before and get right back to the next play. He made a lot of football plays for us. That was a great quality, the confidence that he played with.

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As the 247th overall pick, Roberts is hardly a lock to stick around.  But his strong collegiate career, which included 17 pass breakups his senior year, was not simply the result of playing weaker competition.  Based on his pro-day numbers from NFL Draft Scout, Roberts possesses elite athleticism, highlighted by 4.38 40-yard dash and 6.66 three-cone drill times.

If Roberts can learn to rely less on his hands and more on his quickness, he could become a strong challenger for the slot role.  The entire New England cornerback corps could qualify as a sleeper at this point, but don't look past one of the lower names on the depth chart when digging for hope at the position this summer.