With the NFL season on the horizon, ESPN senior reporter Jeremy Fowler has been ranking players by position. And, safe to say, the New England Patriots don’t have many high-ranking players, at any position. According to Fowler, the Pats specifically have a weakness at the offensive line position. On Friday’s Toucher & Rich radio program, the MMQB’s Albert Breer joined the show to react to Fowler’s rankings. Plus, Breer gives his thoughts on whether or not he thinks Belichick’s job is on the hot seat.
Parts of conversation are abbreviated for clarity.
Rich: Kyle Dugger got an honorable mention among safeties, including Hunter Henry at tight end. Mike Gesicki got votes in that position too.
Another thing in this article, the offensive line was near the bottom of the league. I believe the Titans were at the very bottom. Aren’t they? Like one of the worst offensive lines. That must favor the Patriots in terms of potentially landing DeAndre Hopkins.
Wallach: Patriots were 22nd in the NFL, and the Titans were last for offensive line.
Bert Breer: I would say this, for the Patriots, I think offensive tackle is a significantly bigger problem than receiver is right now. I don’t think they’re good enough at receiver, but they’re not a mess.
Are you going to be able to get a clear answer on Mac Jones with the receivers you have? Maybe not, but you’ve got plenty to get by with DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, and Tyquan Thornton. You don’t have great depth, but you’re okay there.
That tackle position has the potential to bring the whole operation down. And I don’t think I’m overstating that.
Maybe Trent Brown gets into shape, and then that changes the dynamic. Maybe Riley Reiff stays healthy, and that could change the dynamic too. But you’re counting on things that haven’t happened yet at the tackle position. You’re also counting on Calvin Anderson all of a sudden evolving from a guy who looked like a career backup into a solid starter. They will need two of those three things to happen, right?
From a very sober perspective, player for play, I think they’re significantly better at receiver than they are a tackle. The tackle position is a much bigger problem for them.
After returning to practice on Wednesday, Brown was officially activated off IR and placed on the 53-man roster. He’s now eligible to play against Cleveland.
The Patriots are activating OT Trent Brown from IR to the 53-man roster and placing LB Jamie Collins on IR.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 13, 2021?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SourceRich: So, this weekend, there was a picture of Mac Jones hanging out with Robert Kraft. And dumb storylines like, “Does the owner like the quarterback more than the coach?” started to appear.
Needless to say, that launched a thousand hot takes. The Patriots are still building teams the old-fashioned way as if they still have Tom Brady. Could you consider that Bill Belichick is on the hot seat?
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – JANUARY 01: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots reacts against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at Gillette Stadium on January 01, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
Bert Breer: I think that’s a fair way to look at it because when you give the head coach that much power, he affects every single piece of your organization. If you’re building in a way that isn’t going to be sustainable, that’s a problem.
I still think Bill Belichick’s one of the five best on-field coaches in the NFL. But because he’s got all of this off-field power, he’s affecting everything else, too.
I think the roster last year was worse than their record. They went 8-9 last year. That was probably a five- or six-win roster.
