Randy Moss Is Gone, So Brandon Tate Is Moving Up the Depth Charts

With the news of Randy Moss being traded to back to the Minnesota Vikings, this leaves a huge role to fill in New England's offense.

Moss, who was a seven time Pro Bowler, was New England's top and lone deep threat. "The Freak" would spread the field for New England and cause a lot of mismatches with other receivers because of his need to be double-covered. 

The former Patriot has only nine receptions and three touchdowns on the year. Some might say Moss is having a down year, but he still needs to be double-covered, which not only allows other receivers to succeed, but opens up the run game for the Pats.

Now with Moss gone, this means New England's second year receiver, Brandon Tate, will now need to step up and fill the role of Randy Moss.

Tate, who is a former UNC Tar Heel, has become known as a special teams threat with his tremendous return ability. 

Tate, who is 6'1", has 11 receptions on the year for 135 yards. With the enlarged role, I can see Tate becoming a quality receiver for the Pats.

Tate doesn't have Moss' height, but he is younger. Tate might have a better attitude and will be willing to do what it takes to win, and not care about personal accolades. 

Not only will Tate's role increase, but expect slot receiver Julian Edleman's role to increase as well. 

This article was first seen on SportsHaze.

Tony Santorsa is Sports Haze's AFC East Beat Writer, and you could read more sports stories at www.SportsHaze.com

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