Team Previews - New England Patriots

Projected Starting Lineup QB: Tom Brady RB: Rex Burkhead WR: Julian Edelman WR: Chris Hogan WR: Phillip Dorsett TE: Rob Gronkowski

LT: Trent Brown LG: Isaiah Wynn C: David Andrews RG: Shaq Mason RT: Marcus Cannon

Patriots Offensive Profile Under Josh McDaniels 2014-2017 Pass Attempts Rank: 7th, 5th, 23rd, 7th 2014-2017 Rush Attempts Rank: 13th, 25th, 3rd, 11th 2014-2017 Play Volume Rank: 5th, 13th, 7th, 4th 2014-2017 Yards Per Play Rank: 13th, 6th, 6th, 5th Unaccounted for Air Yards from 2017 (Rank): 2,489 (4th) Unaccounted for Carries from 2017 (Rank): 189 (11th)

Josh McDaniel's average offensive production as an Offensive Coordinator for the Patriots last. (6 Seasons)

Passing: ATT COMP PCT YDS AVG YDS/G LONG TD TD% INT INT% SACK YDSL RATE

607 389 64.2 4561 7.5 273 75 32 5.3 8 1.3 32 197 99

Rushing: ATT YDS AVG LONG 20+ TD YDS/G FUM FUML 1DN

457 1857 4.05 44 9 18 116 5 2 110

Receiving: REC TAR YDS AVG TD LONG 20+ YDS/G FUM FUML YAC 1DN

389 607 4561 11.7 32 75 55 285 3 2 2156 229

Quarterback-

Since 2015 Tom Brady has finished as the (2nd, 15th, 3rd) quarterback in fantasy football. His #15 finish came while playing in only 12 games as he was suspended for the first four, that season he averaged the third most points per game. If you're looking for a safe quarterback, Tom Brady is just that. The only negatives that Brady has going into this season, 1) He's 41 years old and 2) He has an absolute brutal schedule to end the year while they have also more than likely already locked up the division. The loss of Brandin Cooks and Julian Edelman (4-Game Suspension) will be felt this year but Brady has done more with less before. Brady still has the best tight-end in the game, along with Chris Hogan, Rex Burkhead, Sony Michel and others to pickup the slack. Much like Manning, you can give Brady any receiving corp and he will make them look like pro-bowlers. Brady led the league in pass attempts (581) and yards (4,577) while adding 32 touchdowns last season and showed no signs of slowing down as he threw for 505 yards in the Super Bowl loss to the Eagles. While his decline is inevitable, I still have Brady as a top-4 quarterback. I will not end up with many shares of Brady though, as he usually goes in the 4th round which is far too high for me to select a quarterback not named Rodgers. Wide Receiver-

With Julian Edelman suspended and coming off of a torn ACL. Chris Hogan is the clear go-to receiver for the New England Patriots. In 9 games last season, Hogan caught 34 of his 59 targets for 439 yards and 5 touchdowns. A shoulder injury continued to plague him throughout the season and really hampered him down the stretch before going off in the Super Bowl (6 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown). Hogan should see well over a hundred targets with Edelman out till week 5 and double-digit touchdowns. With a current ADP of 62, I will be trying to draft Hogan on every team as I view him as a WR2 with potential WR1 upside.

Julian Edelman sat out last season after tearing his ACL in the preseason. He was then suspended for four games after testing positive for PEDs. Not the best start for a receiver that is 32 years old. The good news is that when he does come back from suspension, Brady will lean on him to work the middle of the field. Since 2007, Brady has thrown 1,337 or 24.7% of his passes to slot receivers, which is the 4th highest percentage in the league. Edelman is Brady's security blanket in the middle of the field and should see tons of volume when he returns. With his current ADP of 79 he is going too early for someone only able to play 12 games. If he does fall in your draft, look to draft him in the 10th or 11th round for great value. The options outside of Hogan and Edelman are Kenny Britt, Phillip Dorsett and Cordarrelle Patterson. All three of these players were once first-round draft picks and have ability that the Patriots are looking to extract. Dorsett has the best chance of being relevant early as he will see the majority of the slot duties. The speedster out of Miami could not get on track with the Colts which is alarming as he was catching balls from Andrew Luck. Patterson is the best kick-returner in the league and is one of the best gunners as well, most see him as a special teams ace. He has the highest ceiling as he is one of the most gifted players in the league but simply doesn't have the mental capacity to handle NFL schemes. You can be sure to see him involved in the screen-game, jet-sweeps, and out of the backfield but he will be touchdown dependent. Britt has not been able to stay healthy this preseason but has produced before catching 68 balls for 1,002 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2016. Tight End-

The most dominant tight end to ever play the game reclaimed his #1 fantasy tight end spot last season despite sitting out two games. Last season Gronk caught 69 of 106 targets for 1,084 yards and 8 touchdowns. With Edelman out, Gronk should see an increase in each of those numbers from last year. I mean the guy has caught 76 touchdowns in 102 games, do we really need to write a long blurb about him being the #1 fantasy football tight-end? I didn't think so, he is going to go in the second round and is someone you should consider after the elite WRs are gone, if he falls to you in round 3 Merry Christmas. Running Back-

Oh how excited I was when the Patriots took Sony Michel in the first round. Unfortunately he has not been able to stay healthy and is having knee issues which he also dealt with in college. This years Alvin Kamara is Sony Michel, but with Rex Burkhead and Belichick it is unlikely that he is unleashed this season. He is one of the most elusive backs in the class and is great in the passing game. At 5'11/215 Michel has the ability to handle all three downs of work and should be a RB1 playing with Tom Brady. Michel had a tremendous senior season running for 1,227 on just 156 carries while adding 16 touchdowns. In the national semi-final game he put on a full display of his talents rushing 11 times for 181 yards and 3 touchdowns while catching 4 balls for 41 yards and catching another touchdown. If Michel can get healthy and keep his fumbling issues (12) down, he should be an excellent RB2/3. While he has RB1 upside, Burkhead will likely keep him from achieving the 250+ touches needed to get him inside the top-12. I am going to keep and eye out for his medical reports, but with his ADP falling, I will be willing to take a chance towards the later rounds of the draft. With Dion Lewis signing with the Titans, the Patriots re-signed Rex Burkhead. Last season he carried the ball 64 times for 264 yards and 5 touchdowns while adding 30 receptions for 254 yards and 3 more touchdowns. He was the main goal-line back after the Mike Gillislee experiment failed and should be more heavily involved this season. Unfortunately for us fantasy folks, Burkhead also has a knee sprain and will be a high-risk high-reward player. With Edelman out for the first four games and Amendola now in Miami, Burkhead should see a lot of routes from the slot this season. Much like Michel, Burkhead could become a top-20 running back this season should Michel have fumbling and health issues. With his current ADP, I am likely to take whichever Patriots running back falls to me later in all drafts this season.

Mr playoffs himself James White returns to the Patriots. While he is hardly used in the running game, he is an absolute monster in the passing game. In 8 postseason games White has 34 catches for 293 yards and 8 total touchdowns. With Burkhead and Michel currently being sidelined with injuries, White could become one of the biggest steals in the draft and is a PPR machine.

Just a note, but Jeremy Hill, Mike Gillislee will be a pain in the ass this season for all Patriot owned players. One of them is likely to have a goal-line type role and vulture several TDs from those who deserve them. I hope both get cut but Bill loves to torture us.

2018 Vegas Win Total The Patriots’ Win Total opened at 11. If you bet the under, you probably enjoy self mutilation as well. If Brady stays healthy, there is 0% chance they win less than 11 games as they have won more in eight straight seasons. The Patriots will dominate the division once again and get ready for another deep playoff run. This franchise has made it to the conference championship every year since 2011, you deserve to be broke if you bet against them. No schedule breakdown needed, they have Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, take the over and bet it for a ton.