My Deep Dive, 53 Man Roster Projection prior to Summer Camp

AJ Brown arrives to be the man on offense

In this article, we will look at my 53 man roster the projections leading into Patriot's summer camp that will begin with the rookies reporting July 21 and the veterans reporting July 24 with their first practice July 25. The Patriots have now concluded off-season activities as they finished up with their mandatory mini camp a few weeks ago.. As I am writing this article the Patriots have only one unsigned draft pick and that is second round linebacker Gabe Jacas. Now let’s start looking at who I think will make the roster and who I think will be practice squad candidates.

I begin on the offense starting with the quarterbacks to me. I believe the Patriots will keep two quarterbacks on the roster and look to add one to the practice squad.. The next position is running back and this position I struggled with do they keep four running backs or do they keep five running backs in Josh McDaniel’s offense. Will he use the full back position in the offense this season. Do they keep four running backs and a fullback? Having said that I came away with the team, keeping four running backs and trying to sneak another running back on the practice squad. Now onto the wide receiver position and that gets tricky as it’s a very crowded room. With the big trade for Antonio Brown in the off season and all the trade speculation with wide receiver Kayshon Boutte and does he stay on the roster or does he get traded? Do the Patriots keep between five and seven wide receivers? As I look at this position, I can actually see them keeping five wide receivers. Another skill position that Josh McDaniel's offense will use a lot as the tight end position.. The tight position suffered a major setback as new free agent Tight End Julian Hill was put on the IR with a season ending injury in the off-season. Now will the Patriots sign a veteran tight end. to replace him or will they look to the young tight ends on the roster currently to fill the roster spot. When all the dust settles, I think the Patriots will keep three tight ends, and I will include the fullback position in with the tight ends, making this position four roster spots. I conclude the offense by looking at the offensive line position and this is where things get really tricky as the team will need a solid offensive line to protect franchise quarterback Drake Maye. From left tackle to right tackle they need to have enough depth on the offensive line to have a successful season. and I can see the Patriots going with 10 offensive lineman this season. In summary that would put the Patriots offensive roster positions at 25 roster positions.

Next we look to fill spots on the defense to fill out the fifty-three man roster. Last season the Patriots defense struggle to get pressure on the quarterback off the edge. The team made it a priority in the off-season, as they drafted Gabe Jacas in the second round. The Patriots were looking at him to be a solid contributor on the defense this season however he had off-season surgery, which is yet to be determined to what the surgery was. He also has not signed his rookie contract, which has to be done prior to him taking the field in summer camp. Looking at the Defensive Line positions I can see them keeping ten roster positions on the 53 man roster this season. Breaking down the ten Defensive Line positions five on the Edge and five on the interior line. We now move to the linebackers, which is a vital spot on the roster as well. The team will need speed and size to help stop the run this season as well as to add pressure getting to the quarterbacks they face. I can see the Patriots keeping only four active roster spots while looking to fill spots on the practice squad at linebacker. Finally the last spot on the defense is the Secondary Position. The Patriots will look to have a top five secondary as they added Kevin Byard to the safety room. Byard adds to all pro Christian Gonzalez, and second year promising player Craig Woodson looking to anchor and solidify a top 10 defense this season. To sum up the defense. I see the Patriots having ten defensive backs on the roster this season. This brings my total of 25 defensive players on the final fifty-three man roster this season.

Now I wrap up to 53 man roster projection with the special teams position. As I can see them keeping three players the punter, kicker, and all pro Brenden Schooler. This will conclude the 53 man roster. Looking ahead into future blogs I will do a position breakdown analyzing which players will make the final roster and practice squads. So please continue to follow our web page as well as our YouTube channel.