Deep Battle Brewing for Roster Spots at Wide Receiver for New England Patriots

You can’t control whether or not your team stays healthy, but you can control your level of preparation when an injury strikes.

That’s the approach the New England Patriots are taking at wide receiver a year after one injury to Julian Edelman caused the entire offense to unravel. The Patriots took the tried-and-true volume approach at wide receiver, adding a mix of young and veteran receivers to the depth chart in hopes of creating a deep battle for roster spots.

In the process, they added veterans Nate Washington and Chris Hogan, along with rookies Malcolm Mitchell and Devin Lucien and an under-the-radar signing in DeAndre Carter. That’s five new wide receivers to go with the incumbent veterans, Edelman and Danny Amendola, along with other supporting players such as Aaron Dobson, Keshawn Martin, Chris Harper and special teams ace Matthew Slater.

That’s 11 wide receivers battling it out for what will most likely be five or six roster spots. 

Each of these receivers brings something different to the table. Edelman and Amendola bring their experience and route-running savvy; Hogan, Washington, and Dobson have size that sets them apart from the rest; Mitchell, Lucien, Martin, Harper and Carter are all explosive athletes. As such, one could make the case for virtually any combination as candidates for the final …

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