Cam Newton Was Set Up To Fail With New England Patriots

Cam Newton’s fumble in the waning moments of Sunday’s divisional matchup against the Buffalo Bills effectively took the New England Patriots out of playoff contention. But Newton is not the reason the Patriots are three games under .500 for the first time since Bill Clinton was president.

That blame largely falls on Bill Belichick’s work as general manager. In recent years, Belichick has ignored the offensive skill positions on his roster, and also struggled in the NFL Draft. The Patriots just don’t have enough talent.

The Bills bested the Patriots 24-21 in Buffalo Sunday for the first time since 2011. They ran all over the Patriots, gaining 190 yards on the ground. Josh Allen struggled for the third time in four weeks, but he did barrel through the New England defense for a rushing touchdown on the goal line early in the fourth period.

Entering the game, Buffalo was 26th in the league in rushing.

The Patriots’ defense was one of the best in the NFL last season, and carried them through much of the campaign. But this year, they’re thin on the defensive side of the ball. Belichick recently blamed the lack of depth on salary cap constraints.

“We’re playing more young players than we’ve played in the past [for a] combination of reasons. We were pretty heavily invested in our team in the past few years. From a salary-cap standpoint, we didn’t have much flexibility at all,” he told Sirius XM NFL Radio.

The Patriots had an NFL-high eight players opt out of the season due to Covid concerns, including defensive stalwarts Dont’a Hightower and Patrick Chung. They’re also carrying about $26 million in dead cap space. But those aren’t the only reasons their front seven continues to get dominated on a weekly basis. Simply put, Belichick hasn’t replenished the roster.

Since 2017, the Patriots have drafted 13 defensive players. None of them have emerged as playmakers. Outside linebacker Chase Winovich showed some promise last season, but in recent weeks, he’s struggled to get on the field. He only recorded one tackle Sunday.

Belichick’s penchant for trading down in the NFL Draft supplies the Patriots with a bevy of flexibility, but also robs them of talent. This year, the Patriots traded down from the No. 23 overall pick to get pick No. 37 and pick No. 71. With the No. 37 overall pick, they selected Kyle Dugger, a little-known safety out of Lenoir-Rhyne, a little-known Division II program in North Carolina. Dugger was inactive for the second straight week Sunday due to injury.

If the Patriots stayed at No. 23, they could’ve drafted linebackers Patrick Queen or Kenneth Murray. The former was leading the Baltimore Ravens in tackles entering Sunday; the latter is second on the Los Angeles Chargers.

Speedy rookie wideout Brandon Aiyuk was taken at No. 25 by the San Francisco 49ers.

Armchair analysts can second-guess any team’s draft maneuverings. But Belichick’s decision to trade down this year clearly hurt him. And when he’s picked at the top of the draft in recent years, he’s missed.

Since 2015, here are the Patriots’ first- and second-round draft picks: Malcolm Brown, Jordan Richards, Cyrus Jones, Isaiah Wynn, Sony Michel, N’Keal Harry, Jojuan Johnson, Dugger and Josh Ulce. The first three are no longer on the team, and none of the last six are difference-makers. Harry, whom was selected ahead of standouts such as D.K. Metcalf and Deebo Samuel, only had 19 catches for a measly average of 9.1 yards per reception entering Sunday.

Michel, meanwhile, has only played in three games this season — and averaged 3.7 yards per game last year.

Aside from Brady’s excellence, the second act of the Patriots’ dynasty was heavily fueled by a stretch of incredible drafts. Rob Gronkowski, Devin McCourty, Nate Solder, Chandler Jones, Jamie Collins, Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon, Hightower and Aaron Hernandez were all drafted between 2010-2013.

Newton has not been given talent to work with. This is most apparent at the tight end position, where the depth chart consists of Ryan Izzo and rookies Dalton Keene and Devin Asiasi. They have eight catches between them.

Gronk is not walking through that door. Instead, he’s catching touchdowns from Tom Brady in Tampa Bay.

Remember: the Patriots signed Newton to an incentive-laden one-year deal at the end of June for a minimum base salary of $1.05 million. Newton, 31, was coming off a lisfranc injury and also battled a shoulder injury during his final years with the Carolina Panthers. He was a bargain basement quarterback for a reason.

On Sunday, Newton made some plays with his legs before the decisive fumble, rushing nine times for 54 yards and a nifty touchdown in the red zone. But he only threw for 174 yards. It’s hard to win that way.

His leading receiver was Jakobi Meyers, an undrafted wideout. New England’s anemic receiving corps also lost Julian Edelman this week. He’s out with a knee injury.

Most quarterbacks would struggle to succeed with these players around him. Brady himself struggled through the closing weeks of last season. Newton’s contract tells you all you need to know about his current standing in the league. It’s unrealistic to expect him to win games by himself at this stage in his career.

He’s not up for the task, and the rest of the Patriots’ roster isn’t good enough to carry him. Belichick has left New England bereft of talent.

The Patriots are not in for an easy rebuild.