Braxton Berrios didn’t make much of an impact as a rookie, but it’s too early to pull the plug on his long-term potential. To me, he still looks the player most likely to eventually replace Julian Edelman.
That might come sooner than anyone is expecting. Edelman is 33 and has long had issues with staying healthy because of his role in New England’s offense. Most of his catches come in traffic, so he tends to take a beating.
Edelman has played a full 16 games in only three of the last 10 years. He missed all of 2017 after tearing his ACL, but his only other four missed games in the last three seasons came on a suspension for violating the league’s rules against performance enhancing drugs.
But Edelman can’t go on forever. They’ll need to plug someone else into that slot role at some point, and Berrios looks like the most likely candidate. That was the thinking when they drafted him in the sixth round last year.
Berrios caught 55 passes for 679 yards and 9 TDs his final season at the University of Miami. He also returns punts, increasing his versatility.
Berrios didn’t make much of an impact as a rookie. He caught 1 pass for 3 yards in the preseason, then spent the entire year on injured reserve. But I think that was more about him needing time to develop and learn the offense, rather than being injured.
I saw an article a few months back suggesting Berrios was progressing nicely – that he’s way beyond where he was at as a rookie. And an article by Mike Reiss of ESPN says a big, stronger Berrios has showed up early at New England’s camp, giving him a better chance of making the team.
When Edelman sat out the first four games of last year, the Patriots plugged Phillip Dorsett into the slot role; he caught 16 passes for 2 TDs in those four games. The Patriots have other receivers, but I would think that their slot will be either Dorsett or Berrios if they were to lose Edelman. The only other option would be Dontrelle Inman (and I will concede Inman played effectively for the Colts last year).
The Patriots also have N'Keal Harry, and Josh Gordon might be back, but those are different receivers. Those guys line up primarily outside. Demaryius Thomas, if he can get his Achilles back in working order, is also in that group.
If I were in a dynasty league with large rosters, Berrios is a guy I would be thinking about with my final roster spot. There are lots of other intriguing prospects out there, making it tough to justify ranking Berrios as one of the top 90 receiver prospects right now, but he might move into that area before long.
Berrios of the players I’m most eager to see in the early preseason games.
—Ian Allan