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Borrowing the blueprint: Seahawks’ versatile WRs should be Patriots’ goal originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Each week this season, as the Patriots work their way through their first year under Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf, we’ll take a look at their latest opponent and see if there’s an aspect of their football operation worth imitating as the new regime in New England works to mold its team into a contender.
Last week we dug into the Bengals and their focus on making their highly-drafted quarterback comfortable with their coaching decisions. This week we’re looking at the Seahawks, whose versatile receiver room should be exactly what the Patriots pursue as they look to make their offense more dynamic for Drake Maye in the coming seasons.
You could say the pursuit is already underway.
The Patriots have a slot receiver in DeMario Douglas who has dealt with injury early in his career, but he’s ideally suited to play in the slot with his quickness and penchant for creating yards after the catch.
They also drafted a do-it-all wideout in Ja’Lynn Polk in the second round back in the spring. His size, contested-catch ability and hard-nosed approach as a blocker makes him the kind of “Z” who could be a staple of their offense for years to come.
Wolf has also done his share of chasing after the third piece to the puzzle in the short period of time during which he’s held the title of Executive Vice President of Player Personnel. He coveted free-agent wideout Calvin Ridley before losing him to the Titans. Then Wolf went after 49ers big-play threat Brandon Aiyuk before he re-signed with San Francisco.
The reason for targeting those types of explosive options in the passing game is obvious. Particularly when the Patriots passing game has been as punchless as it has been recently. They tied for last in the NFL in 2023 with just 14 passes completed that traveled at least 20 yards in the air.
The Seahawks, meanwhile — while certainly not without their flaws offensively — seem to…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/borrowing-blueprint-seahawks-versatile-wrs-210123099.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-09-14 02:59:55
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