The New England Patriots have had a very good training camp this year with the exception of losing WR Julian Edelman to a season ending injury. How will this affect the Patriots this year? HUGE!

Here’s why:

• Last year WR Julian Edelman led the NFL in third down receiving yards with 431.
• Last year WR Julian Edelman was second overall with 28 catches on third down. Note: Edelman averaged 15.4 yards on these catches.
• Last year WR Julian Edelman gained the 11^th most receiving first downs in the NFL – 55
• WR Julian Edelman is a fabulous kick returner and was very explosive in that role

What does that mean to the Patriot’s offense this year?

WR Danny Amendola will need to pick up some of the slack, but the reason the Patriots brought WR Julian Edelman into the organization was to replace WR Wes Welker which WR Danny Amendola could not do. In addition WR Danny Amendola is an injury risk and can’t handle the workload that WR Julian Edelman could.

WR Chris Hogan is a taller deep threat and isn’t really a slot WR. WR Michael Floyd actually could have filled the slot role but he moved to Minnesota. WR Brandin Cooks has joined the Patriots from the Saints and will get more catches due to this injury. What I see happening is the Tight End position and the runningback position. TE Dwayne Allen will gain some targets due to WR Julian Edelman’s loss, as will RB James White and RB Dion Lewis. WR Austin Carr could take that spot or even WR Devin Lucien could take the spot. They need to prove themselves of course.

The real winners: RB James White and RB Dion Lewis. TE Dwayne Allen will see a lot of open field this season whether or not Edelman is on the field or not. One more super sleeper is RB D.J. Foster has runningback and receiver experience in college and a year under his belt with the Patriots.

The bottom line is, when you have QB Tom Brady, a brilliant coach, and more offensive weapons than any other team, the loss of WR Julian Edelman will hurt, but not for long. This is the one team that could easily absorb such a loss.

It will be interesting if a good slot receiver becomes available in the cuts this year.

The first week of the season starts in a week. Report #1 comes soon!

End.