The latest edition of our Patriots mailbag answers questions about Travis Hunter, Cole Strange, and more.
The New England Patriots are back from their bye week and set to travel out west to take on the Arizona Cardinals. With some attention on the final four weeks and one eye already looking at the offseason, let’s get into this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag.
If the patriots end up with Travis Hunter would he be a cb or wr… or both full time? – Mike W.
Fresh off winning awards for Defensive Player of the Year (Bednarik) and Wide Receiver of the Year (Biletnikoff), Travis Hunter is going to be really good at either spot he chooses. I don’t think playing full-time both ways is feasible, but he’ll have a role on both sides in some capacity (15-20 additional plays?).
If Hunter’s a full-time corner, he could play two-minute situations, have red area packages and other select plays as a receiver. If he’s a full-time receiver, a similar usage could be in store the opposite way with Hunter playing third-downs and red area packages as a cornerback.
After watching Hunter live throughout the last two seasons, my initial take was that he’d be best served as a cornerback in the NFL. While that still may be true, I see tons of potential with him at wide receiver as well after watching him closer over the bye week.
Hunter’s game as a receiver has grown tremendously over the last year. He has a great feel for coverages and working over the middle of the field, can finish through contact, stop on a dime, and his route tempo and ball skills are top notch. The athleticism also plays.
The other part of Hunter’s game as a receiver that could appeal to the Patriots is his off-script work with Shaduer Sanders. As that’s a big part of Drake Maye’s game, it’s easy to see the connection.
Hunter’s durability could be a concern (although could add mass in the league) and he will have some things to work on, mainly completing a full route tree — but that can be coached up in the NFL, especially if he’s spending more time on that side of the ball. We’ll see during the pre-draft process what his preference is in the NFL, but he’ll be a special player no matter where he plays.
Cutting Bentley post June 1st saves $5.5M in cap space, redo the contract or move on at age 29? – Bits_of_Real_Panther
First off, the Patriots should not need to save any cap space this offseason. They have plenty. Secondly, and respectfully, have you watched the linebacker play this season since Bentley’s injury?
New England’s entire run game has fallen off without one of their best run defenders and they are forced to play more base defense as they can’t stop the run out of nickel without Bentley. Then opposing team’s have had no issues attacking the middle of the field in the passing game, making players like Jahlani Tavai look worse without Bentley next to him.
Bentley’s return will be a big boost to the defense, but it could be beneficial to add at the position next to him. Dre Greenlaw and Jamien Sherwood are two free agent options, while Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell is one of my early draft favorites if the Patriots can afford to use their second selection at the position.
Jihaad Campbell is moving like this at 6-foot-3, 245 pounds pic.twitter.com/7r4gk6ZNXB
— Brian Hines (@iambrianhines) December 10, 2024
With Ben Brown at center and Cole strange back this week how do they get him into the lineup this week? – JS
In a perfect world the Patriots could slot Strange right in at center and get a jump start on their evaluation of him at the position over the last month. It’s far from a perfect world in Foxboro currently.
It’s tough to see the path to getting Strange in the lineup at center at this point. Ben Brown has allowed just two pressures over the last four weeks and has operated well with Drake Maye behind center. Making that change to Strange, who has never played center in a game before, seems dangerous — especially when you consider the center position is responsible for the checks and protections at the line of scrimmage. That’s been the biggest adjustment for Strange in this process.
They could get him back on the field at his natural left guard position, but the staff has made it a point to get Layden Robinson in the lineup. I’d expect continuity to hold for now with Strange potentially working in if struggles reside at either spot.
With the addition of a kicker what’s the outlook of Joey Slye and that position? – PatsFather
Joey Slye’s 78.6 field goal percentage ranks 27th in the league. Of his six missed kicks, five have come in one score losses:
- 48-yard FG blocked vs Seattle (3 point OT loss)
- Missed 33-yard FG vs. Miami (5 point loss)
- Missed 56-yard FG in Tennessee (3 point OT loss)
- Missed 25-yard, 68-yard FGs vs Colts (1 point loss)
Not holding the blocked kick or 68 yarder against Slye, but three missed kicks could have swung one game scores in New England’s favor. Pair that with the fact that he’s on a one-year contract and it makes sense for them to explore options at that position. They’ll see what they have in John Parker Romo the rest of this season and then likely enter next training camp with another competition between some pair of kickers.
Does Bill Belichick have pieces to work with at North Carolina? – Gawinonzalez
UNC is reportedly increasing their NIL package for football from $4 million to $20 million this season, so Bill will have plenty of resources available to him to be active in the transfer portal. I’m guessing that’s where he’ll look to add the majority of his players.
That’s all for this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag. If you have questions you’d liked to be answered next week, submit them online in our weekly submission post or on Twitter using #PostPulpit. Make sure to be following @iambrianhines and @PatsPulpit as well.