![]() ![]() As is most often the case, it's hard to answer in a vacuum though. If the Patriots aren't successful in 2023, which would make three losing seasons over the last four years, it would certainly be possible that Kraft would want to make a change. This is a very complicated issue as few coaches have the resume that Belichick brings to the table at the moment. While both are solid tight ends, neither has the ability that Gronk and Hernandez brought to the table so even though the formations will look the same I wouldn't expect similar production. The two-tight end looks are something the Patriots have always liked, and having that as an option should help the offense. That said, I would be surprised if Henry and Gesicki weren't used together more often than Henry and Jonnu Smith were last season. DeVante Parker was limited at times as well, so O'Brien didn't really have a lot of options to choose from. Tyquan Thornton didn't see much action either. JuJu Smith-Schuster didn't suit up for any of the practices open to the media. However, it's also key to note that the Patriots wide receiver corps was dealing with a lot of injuries, limiting the amount of bodies O'Brien had available. Gesicki looked pretty comfortable for a player who is just learning the Patriots system under Bill O'Brien, and both were active and productive throughout OTAs and minicamp. The offense featured a lot of those formations during the spring camps with Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki frequently in the lineup together. Dugger is coming off a solid season in 2022 and the defense needs him to perform in a similar fashion once again. He can make plays near the line of scrimmage as well as in pass coverage, and with Devin McCourty retired he and the rest of the safeties will need to be more involved in the latter. ![]() I'm going to pick Kyle Dugger as the most important because I feel his versatility allows him to be involved in a lot of different areas of the defense. On defense it's a bit more complicated as there are a number of key players like Matthew Judon, Christian Barmore and Josh Uche to choose from. Quarterbacks are always important to a team's success and Jones needs to take a step forward this year to lift the offense to new heights. But it's hard for me to imagine the offense producing at a high level without a strong season from Mac Jones. These are generally difficult questions to answer because it's not like one player can perform well while the others struggle and teams still win a lot of games. ![]()
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