New England Patriots' 2016 Breakout Candidates

If you're not getting better, you're getting worse.

The New England Patriots—like hopefully every team in the NFL—subscribe to that cliche when they look to improve their roster each year. But that statement also applies to improving from within.

Addition by subtraction can sometimes lead to the most important improvements of all, as another year in the league can often make a huge difference in a player's understanding of the game and his ability to react quickly to the situations that arise.

Many of the players on this list are young players recently added to the team. Several will have more opportunities to get onto the field, thanks to the departure of veterans at their position. Others are expected to take a step up as a starter at their position.

Their stories are different, but the hope for each is the same: more experience means more production.

Chris Hogan

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Traditionally, there seems to be at least one area of concern for the Patriots heading into each season. This year, the Patriots' biggest need is at wide receiver, where they are looking for a playmaker to replace the lost production of Brandon LaFell.

Enter Chris Hogan, at 6'1" and 220 pounds. The former Buffalo Bills wide receiver is entering his fifth NFL season and has shown flashes of reliability over the years. He's been sure-handed, with just seven career drops and a drop rate of 7.4 percent, according to Pro Football Focus.

Hogan's best year was 2014, when he posted 41 receptions for 426 yards and four touchdowns. He's never been the featured outside receiver, though, so if he were to take on that role for the Patriots, it would be a significant step up in his workload and the physical demand on him.

With that said, Hogan doesn't have to be the Patriots' leading receiver or even No. 2 on the list to be an effective contributor on offense.

Malcom Brown

Brad Penner/Associated Press

Most Patriots rookies do not immediately assume a full-time role as a starter, regardless of whether they were drafted in the first round or went undrafted. Of course, the 2015 season was unlike most other years simply due to the plethora of injuries the Patriots faced. So it wasn't too surprising to see rookie defensive tackle Malcom Brown make his way into the starting lineup in Week 7.

The Patriots had a lot of depth at defensive tackle in 2015, and playing time was split between Brown, Sealver Siliga, Alan Branch, and Akiem Hicks. With Siliga and Branch out of the picture, there's even more playing time for Brown. According to Pro Football Focus, Brown played 47.8 percent of the defensive snaps for the Patriots. 

Brown made an impact, with 48 tackles and three sacks, but as he prepares for the "second-year jump," Brown will have even more opportunities to make his presence felt. 

Brown also has the versatility to line up in either a 3-4 front (as a nose tackle or as a defensive end in a 3-technique) or a 4-3 front (as a defensive tackle in the 1- or 3-technique), which will only help him find his way onto the field as he seeks to prove that the Patriots made the right choice in drafting him.

Shaq Mason

Winslow Townson/Associated Press

The Patriots selected Tre' Jackson and Shaq Mason in the fourth round of the 2015 draft, and both were quickly thrust into starting roles. The woes of the offensive line did not fall completely on the young guards, but their up-and-down play was occasionally part of the problem. 

In 2016, they can be part of the solution. Thanks to the return of retired offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia to the staff, the stock went up for each of the Patriots' offensive linemen, especially the young ones in need of some grooming and growth.

According to Pro Football Focus, Mason allowed 31 total pressures (20 hurries, nine hits, two sacks) in 2015—not too far off of the other Patriots linemen last year. Also, as NESN.com's Doug Kyed pointed out, Mason is the most athletic guard the Patriots have had on their offensive line in quite some time.

He posted a 4.97-second 40-yard dash, a 7.53-second three-cone drill, a 4.65-second short shuttle, a 32-inch vertical leap and a nine-foot, two-inch broad jump at Georgia Tech's pro day last year. 

Quite simply, the Patriots need their linemen to all take a step forward in 2016 if they want their offense to improve, but the guards have a lot of room to improve individually. Thanks to the arrival of Scarnecchia, their odds of fulfilling their potential have increased.

Geneo Grissom

Winslow Townson/Associated Press

There's been some shuffling on the depth chart at defensive end, and now, Geneo Grissom is in line for more playing time than he had as a rookie. The only thing left is for him to carve out a role. 

Now that Chandler Jones has been traded, Jabaal Sheard and Rob Ninkovich are now the top two starters at defensive end. That means the role of a No. 3 rotational defensive end is wide open for Grissom, who enters his second year in the league out of Oklahoma.

The Patriots saw a lot of potential in him when he was drafted in the third round last year, particularly for his ability to move around the field. 

Bill Belichick discussed Grissom's versatility, per NESN.com's Doug Kyed:

"

He has good playing strength, runs well. This year, it looked like they had more depth on the defensive line, and they moved him to outside linebacker, so both last year and this year, on third down, he played end and then also bumped inside to an inside-rusher position. ... He's rushed inside, he's rushed outside. He's played anywhere from the end of the line, five-technique, defensive end in a 4-3, outside linebacker in a 3-4.

"

And he did most of those things as a rookie, too. He lined up at defensive tackle at times, in a role that could expand with the departures of Akiem Hicks and Sealver Siliga on the inside. Grissom's ability to move around the defense will afford him more opportunities, as will the departure of a few veterans on the defensive line.

James White

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

With Dion Lewis returning from injury, the Patriots may be looking at a thin backfield heading into training camp. If that's the case, James White could resume his role as a valuable backup. 

White's role has grown incrementally over the first two years of his career. As a rookie, he was essentially a redshirt while Shane Vereen filled the third-down role and Stevan Ridley and LeGarrette Blount assumed the roles of the top first- and second-down backs. But after Lewis got injured in 2015, White got an opportunity to show off his development.

White made an impact in the passing game, with 40 receptions for 410 yards and four touchdowns, but as a running back, he carried the ball 22 times for 56 yards and two touchdowns. He also made some big plays. Fifteen out of his 40 receptions went for 10 yards or more. In that regard, White has already broken out to an extent. 

But how else could White break out? By proving himself as a ball-carrier.

We know he has it in him. You don't rack up 4,015 rushing yards and 45 touchdowns in college by accident. Maybe White could perform better with improvement from the offensive line. He'll probably have more opportunities, if nothing else, as the Patriots lack a clear-cut No. 1 running back. It's up to White to make the most of those opportunities.