The New England Patriots made a splash with Darrelle Revis and now names like Hakeem Nicks, Steve Smith, James Jones, Santonio Holmes and Emmanuel Sanders could be targets if Julian Edelman leaves for a team like the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers or Indianapolis Colts as a free agent this offseason.
The Patriots won't be afraid to let Edelman leave, as they showed last season with Wes Welker that they will find other ways to produce, but this time around the roster doesn't have an Edelman to fall back on. The Pats felt okay with letting Welker leave last season because Edelman was on the roster and while the hopes he could put up good numbers, they never expected him to have over 100 catches and 1,000 yards, especially after they had already signed Danny Amendola. The team has been mentioned in trade rumors with Amendola, but so far there has been no movement on that front.
The Patriots have a solid core of young receivers in Kenbrell Thompkins, Aaron Dobson and Josh Boyce, but there needs to be a veteran or two in that mix and that leaves Smith, Jones, Holmes and Sanders as lower priced options than Nicks, who is expected to get a decent deal on the market. The Patriots haven't been mentioned much with Nicks, but that could be an interesting fit, as he could end up getting less than expected on the market and that puts the Pats in play for him,.
Nicks is coming off two down seasons after back to back 1,000 yard years with the Giants and he scored zero touchdowns last season and had no catches in the red zone either and that is troubling for a player his size. The Giants would love to keep him, but only at the right price and now it appears he is leaning towards the Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts or San Diego Chargers. Nicks made comments that those three place would be solid fits for him and it remains to be seen who is in the lead.
Steve Smith was released by the Panthers after many years and since they also have Brandon LaFell and Domenik Hizon as free agents, it's shaping up that Nicks will return to the state where he is from and where he played his college ball. James Jones seems like a perfect player for the Patriots, as he is productive, consistent and he doesn't drop easy catches and that fits into what Bill Belichick loves at the position. Jones put up good numbers last season and he hasn't had too much attention yet, while Smith also could be in the mix depending on how the market for him develops.
Tom Brady had a tough time getting used to his new receivers last season, but eventually they started to click and another year with them will be big, but he needs some veteran help as well. The Baltimore Ravens called Smith right away when he was released and he is coming off of a solid year with 64 catches for 745 yards and four touchdowns.