His New Weapons Are Not Elite But Have Super Bowl Experience

Leaving a team that featured an all-around superstar like Christian McCaffrey would be difficult for any quarterback, but thankfully Newton will be teaming up with offensive geniuses like Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels.

As it stands currently, his main running back group includes former 1st round pick Sony Michel, Super Bowl hero James White, and versatile Rex Burkhead. The Patriots have always employed a running back by committee, but White is the most likely candidate to help Newton regain his former elite status.

In 2019, White caught 72 passes for 645 yards at a 9.0 average and 5 touchdowns, while also adding 263 on the ground. Michel’s average dropped below 4.0 yards per carry, but his high volume still gave him the opportunity to score 7 touchdowns and approach 1,000 yards on the year. Newton will likely exercise many play action passes and run-pass options with the creative play calling abilities McDaniels gives him.

On the outside, New England lacks top end talent at wide receiver but still features Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman, seasoned veteran Mohamed Sanu and 1st round talent N’Keal Harry. Edelman was targeted 153 times last season, which was 4th most in the entire league.

Newton’s largest successes were due to his security blanket in tight end Greg Olsen, as well as his prowess throwing deep to speedsters like Tedd Ginn. The Patriots do not have a starting-caliber TE, instead working with low end solutions like Matt LaCosse and rookie Devin Asiasi.

The Patriots have traditionally gotten by thanks to Tom Brady elevating the play of those around him, but it will be intriguing to see how they respond to another former MVP running the show.