The Patriots signed Jordan Matthews yesterday, and it's definitely an intriguing signing. While it seems like he's been around forever, he's only 25 years old. When he played all 16 games his first two seasons in Philadelphia, he had over 850 yards and 8 TD catches in each of them.
But on those teams he was more of a No. 1 or 2 type of receiver, and in New England he'll probably -- probably -- be the No. 3 behind Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan. The Patriots have an elite quarterback and passing offense, but with all the balls they send to running backs and tight ends (particularly Rob Gronkowski), their various No. 3 wide receivers over the years haven't put up big numbers. At all.
Over the last decade, a wide variety of youngsters and veterans have finished as their No. 3 wideout (in terms of yards). None has caught 40 passes or more than 5 TDs in that span.
| PATRIOTS NO. 3 WRS, 2008-2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Yds | TD |
| 2008 | Jabar Gaffney | 38 | 468 | 2 |
| 2009 | Julian Edelman | 37 | 359 | 1 |
| 2010 | Brandon Tate | 24 | 432 | 3 |
| 2011 | Chad Ochocinco | 15 | 276 | 1 |
| 2012 | Julian Edelman | 21 | 235 | 3 |
| 2013 | Aaron Dobson | 37 | 519 | 4 |
| 2014 | Danny Amendola | 27 | 200 | 1 |
| 2015 | Brandon LaFell | 37 | 515 | 0 |
| 2016 | Malcolm Mitchell | 32 | 401 | 4 |
| 2017 | Chris Hogan | 34 | 439 | 5 |
That doesn't mean Matthews can't put up good numbers. Maybe Edelman, an older player (32 next month) and coming back from injury, isn't suited to be a No. 1 anymore. Hogan also has an injury history. While Matthews figures to slot in as the No. 3, maybe he surprises and winds up as more of a No. 2 or even No. 1.
But it's not an offense that's ever tended to support three wide receivers. At least one of the three looks pretty certain to disappoint.
--Andy Richardson