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Five more burning questions the Patriots need to answer this summer originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
We hit you on Wednesday with five of our 10 burning questions facing the Patriots this summer. Now, we are back at it again with the next five.
Less of a preamble this time. Less fixation on the offense as well. Away we go.
Who’s opposite Gonzo?
Despite his season being cut extremely short, 2023 first-rounder Christian Gonzalez signaled through the summer and the first three games that he’s going to be a weapon on defense. But the Patriots could use another boundary corner to deal with the abundance of outside wide receiver talent they’ll deal with.
Jonathan Jones can play outside and has done a good job of it at times. But at 5-foot-9, there are times when he’s left lacking in length. He’s a tremendous slot corner.
Third-year corner Marcus Jones is similar. The 2022 third-rounder is a brilliant athlete and made plays as a rookie and last summer before being injured early last season and lost for the year. He’s 5-foot-8.
The bigger corners the Patriots have are Shaun Wade (6-foot-1), Alex Austin (6-1, a 2023 seventh-rounder), Isaiah Bolden (6-2, another 2023 seventh-rounder), rookie sixth-rounder Marcellas Dial (6-0) and Marco Wilson (6-0, a 2021 fourth-rounder for Arizona).
Can the Patriots find a starting-level corner in that group that allows them to move Jonathan Jones inside? Or will they need to look for any veteran help still left on the market (Stephon Gilmore remains out there)?
How you doing kickoffs?
The new kickoff rules are pretty drastic. Designed to keep the kickoff in the game but reduce high-speed collisions from the kicking teams having a 65-yard runup, the coverage unit will now line up at the receiving team’s 40, just five yards from nine of the 11 players on the return team.
Any kick dropping between the goal line and the 20 must be returned. The coverage team can’t move until the ball is touched by a returner or hits the ground. A…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/five-more-burning-questions-patriots-194832703.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-06-20 19:48:32
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