Kadlick’s Corner: Five Things I’m Looking Forward to Heading into Patriots Training Camp

Patriots training camp is here! New England kicks off the 2022 season this week, with practice starting tomorrow at 9:30am.

Tuesday is the real start however, as the remainder of veterans reported today and we had the chance to speak to coach Belichick.

Of note, Bill told us that quarterback Mac Jones has made a “dramatic improvement” this offseason, and that he will “certainly have input” in helping build the offense around his skill set. Belichick raved about Mac this morning.

With practice officially starting tomorrow, here are my five burning topics that I’m looking forward to keeping an eye on during training camp:

5. Running Back Room

New England once again has a loaded running back room. Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson return as the dominant 1-2 punch, and the team drafted rookies Kevin Harris and Pierre Strong Jr. to compliment them. These four are the roster locks.

Then there’s veteran James White, who returns to the Patriots after a grueling hip injury that ended his 2021 campaign.

White has +5000 odds to win the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award according to our partners at BetOnline.ag – however, I think it’s more likely he doesn’t even make the team. I wrote about the chances of White being a training camp cut casualty last week. Read it here.

4. Impact Team’s Pass Catchers Bring

It’s no question that the Patriots have a sub-par group of pass catchers on their roster. Their supposed “number one” wide receiver DeVante Parker isn’t even projected to surpass 1,000 yards according to BetOnline. Here are his season total props:

DeVante Parker Props – 2022 Totals

• Receiving Yards: O/U 675.5
• Receptions: O/U 54.5
• Receiving Touchdowns: O/U 3.5

That’s pretty weak for a number one guy.

I expect TE Hunter Henry to continue on as Mac Jones’ security blanket in 2022, but can Kendrick Bourne build on the career year he had in ’21? Can Jonnu Smith return to his Tennessee Titan form? Those are the things I’m looking for from this group that can push the offense over the edge.

3. Does Matt Judon Improve or Take a Step Back?

There’s no doubt that Matthew Judon made a massive impact on the Patriots defense last season. The sixth year linebacker out of Grand Valley State made his third Pro Bowl in a row and had a career high 12.5 sacks during his first year in New England.

He also completely fell off in the second half of last season. In fact, those 12.5 sacks were all in the first 13 weeks of the year. Boston Sport Journal’s Greg Bedard took note of this during a podcast heading into last year’s playoffs:

Bedard notes that, “after week one, the next twelve games I think it was he put up 12.5 sacks. In the last four games… zero sacks. Matthew Judon, to me, looks like a player that’s out to get his and only his. He’s not concerned about the scheme… he’s reverting back to what he did back in Baltimore, and this scheme cannot afford that. It’s predicated on all 11 guys doing their job the right way.”

So what can we expect in Judon’s second year in New England? I noted during the minicamp practice I attended in June that, “Matthew Judon… does not care about minicamp to say the least. He basically just trotted around the field laughing all practice and took his reps when he had to. I suppose that’s what you can do when you make an average of $13 million per season.”

With that being said – I have my doubts that he makes the same impact he did in 2021.

2. Offensive Play Caller Competition Between Judge & Patricia

Here’s where it gets dicey. We don’t even know who’s running this mystery offense. Though the team put out an official list of coaches last week – they have no offensive coordinator named.

Matt Patricia is listed as a senior football advisor and offensive line coach, and Joe Judge is listed as an offensive assistant and the quarterbacks coach. So we at least know that Judge will be on Mac’s hip pocket in lieu of Josh McDaniels.

Should be good…

1. Mac Jones’ Year Two Leap

The most important thing for the Patriots this season is the development of quarterback Mac Jones. He’s far and away the most important player the franchise has.

Jones had a solid rookie season in 2021 – throwing for 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns, and making the NFL’s Pro Bowl. Can he build off of his solid first year campaign? Early this offseason, I wrote about the odds of Mac taking a massive leap and the potentially winning the MVP in 2022:

Time is certainly ticking on the Patriots bringing Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien back to New England, and it’s going to be difficult to see them move forward with a staff of Joe Judge, Nick Caley, and Troy Brown. Hopefully Billy OB is just a phone call away.

The Patriots offensive would also benefit from bringing a top-tier pass-catcher into the fold. It would give Jones the security blanket that all of the other top quarterbacks in the league have – and would allow players like Hunter Henry, Kendrick Bourne, and Jakobi Meyers to play a secondary role in the offense – a role that they would certainly have success in.

Mac Jones isn’t the problem in New England. If Bill Belichick – the greatest head coach of all time – can get his proverbial crap together and support his young quarterback with a pulse at receiver and a brain at offensive coordinator, I don’t see why he can’t contend for an MVP in 2022.

Well, they still don’t have an offensive coordinator, and their idea of a “top tier pass catcher” is the corpse of DeVante Parker. I still think Mac has a shot at being a fringe top ten QB in 2022 – but MacVP is off the table.

So we’ll have to see how this all plays out! I’ll be at Gillette Wednesday-Saturday, with updates both on my Twitter and here at CLNSMedia.com. Happy training camp!

Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @PatriotsCLNS for the latest up-to-date Patriots news!

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