With a new season set to kick off this weekend against the Houston Texans, the Patriots office at Last Word on Pro Football make their bold predictions for the 2018 New England Patriots.
2018 New England Patriots Bold Predictions
Tight end Rob Gronkowski already owns the record for most touchdown receptions by a tight end in a single season. Gronkowski set that record all the way back in 2011, and it’s about time he broke it again. In 2018, Rob Gronkowski will bring in at least 18 touchdown receptions.
Assuming he stays healthy, everything is set up for him to break this record. Gronkowski caught 17 touchdowns in 2011 despite having some great receiving threats around him. Fellow tight end Aaron Hernandez caught 79 passes for 910 receptions and seven touchdowns. Meanwhile, wide receiver Wes Welker caught a league-leading 122 passes for 1,569 yards and nine touchdowns.
While the 2018 Patriots have a solid cast of weapons, the group is not nearly as good as 2011. Julian Edelman, the team’s best receiver, is suspended for the first four games and is coming off a torn ACL. Jacob Hollister, he of four career receptions, is the second tight end on the roster.
Because of this, Brady will turn to Gronkowski early and often. As it is, Gronkowski is already the best red zone threat in the league, and Brady is the best quarterback. This duo should put up another record-breaking season together.
The Patriots end the season with a top ten defense. Deatrich Wise Jr., Malcom Brown, and Adam Butler show marked improvement from their 2017 campaigns. Trey Flowers rebounds from the undisclosed injury that kept him out of the preseason and has an excellent season. Rookie linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley and seasoned veteran Dont’a Hightower step up, and the defense as a whole steps up in a big way in 2018.
This is the first year in a long time the Patriots don’t win 12 games. New England suffers losses to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers or Minnesota Vikings, one AFC East opponent, and one dark horse opponent.
Riley McCarron has a bigger impact on the Patriots 2018 season than people will expect. The Patriots relegated McCarron to the practice squad during 53-man roster cuts but promoted him to the roster when they placed Duke Dawson on injured reserve. The young slot receiver is just a couple inches shorter than the recently departed Danny Amendola, and McCarron posted better NFL Combine numbers than the former Texas Tech receiver in almost every notable category. Even if McCarron isn’t the second coming of Amendola, he can still contribute heavily on special teams as a kick and punt returner in Edelman’s absence.
Jason McCourty doesn’t finish the season on the Patriots 53-man roster. He struggled to impress in the preseason and wound up playing the preseason finale as a safety. Given the Patriots depth and existing talent at safety, including McCourty’s twin brother Devin McCourty, there isn’t much room for the former Cleveland Brown. The Patriots either cut him or ship him off in a trade for a wide receiver.
The Patriots trade for an NFC wide receiver. With Edelman out, everyone can see how dire the Patriots wide receiver situation really is. Bill Belichick will be looking for a young player without a lot of hype that he can turn into a star. Lots of speculators have Golden Tate headed to the Patriots, which would fit the bill. Tyler Lockett might find himself relegated to third on the Seattle Seahawks depth chart with the addition of Brandon Marshall, and the Seahawks have lost their formerly fearsome secondary. Lockett might come at a better price than Tate, and the wideout is only 25.
Jeremy Hill leads the team in rushing touchdowns. James White is the Patriots go-to receiving back and is going to be the leading scorer out of the offensive backfield, but White won’t outpace Hill in terms of rushing touchdowns. Rex Burkhead will challenge Hill for the title early on, but Hill’s size and abilities as a power back win out over Burkhead’s shiftiness. There’s a reason Burkhead sat behind Hill in Cincinnati. That being said, rookie Sony Michel emerges as a powerful threat in 2018 and leads the team in rushing yards (if he ever recovers from this knee injury).
