Aaron Dobson's Preseason Struggles Continue
When the New England Patriots drafted wide receiver Aaron Dobson out of Marshall in the second round of the NFL Draft, there were two elements of his game that stood out to Patriots fans. The first was a clip of one of the best catches of the year in 2011, in which Dobson reaches back and reels in a jaw-dropping, one-handed catch in the end zone for the Thundering Herd. The second was something more consistent, and it made Tom Brady fans and football lovers alike salivate at the thought of what this 6'3" 210 pound wide receiver and a future Hall of Fame QB could do together - Dobson had ZERO drops in his final season at Marshall.
However, this achievement of zero drops, has not been congruent with what Dobson has put out on the field since joining the Patriots. In practice, Dobson has made a few great down field catches that drew cheers from fans and teammates, showing what he is capable of - an imitation of what he was like in college. The bigger picture has not been as pretty.
In his first game, albeit a preseason game, Dobson was targeted five times and caught two passes, dropping one pass - already over his senior year number of zero. He was one the field for eight snaps of the first team offense, and an overall of 44 out of 72 snaps throughout the game. He was second to Danny Amendola with first team snaps, and he was also tied with Kenbrell Thompkins, the undrafted rookie (Josh Boyce was next with six). Regardless of his measly two catches on five targets, Dobson led the team in yards with 35, while Thompkins led the team in receptions with four.
This past week's joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was not ideal for Dobson, compounding his mediocre debut against the Eagles with a Tuesday practice that made for Tom Brady's worst completion percentage of this preseason. Brady went 13-for-21, and he threw eight passes to Dobson - only four were completed, and one Dobson dropped over the middle.
The response of the coaching staff was felt in this past game against the Bucs. Tom Brady was in for 25 snaps, and Dobson was only alongside Brady and company for two of those. That is down from eight last week, in which he was second in the receiver category. This reduction in snaps with the first team meant a boost for Kenbrell Thompkins and Danny Amendola who got 21 and 20, respectively. Keep in mind, Thompkins and Dobson had the same amount of snaps with the first team against the Eagles. In addition, this week, Josh Boyce had nine snaps with the first team and Julian Edelman had four, both exceeding Dobson's meager number of two.
This is by no means a permanent wide receiver depth chart, where Dobson would be currently ranked fifth. This is going to be a fluid group, and to think that the guy who carries the most raw talent and has the highest upside with his size, would be dropped to fifth on the depth chart simply because of a week or so of poor football is crazy. However, Dobson will have to improve if he expects to jump back up to the number two receiver in the corps.
However, this achievement of zero drops, has not been congruent with what Dobson has put out on the field since joining the Patriots. In practice, Dobson has made a few great down field catches that drew cheers from fans and teammates, showing what he is capable of - an imitation of what he was like in college. The bigger picture has not been as pretty.
In his first game, albeit a preseason game, Dobson was targeted five times and caught two passes, dropping one pass - already over his senior year number of zero. He was one the field for eight snaps of the first team offense, and an overall of 44 out of 72 snaps throughout the game. He was second to Danny Amendola with first team snaps, and he was also tied with Kenbrell Thompkins, the undrafted rookie (Josh Boyce was next with six). Regardless of his measly two catches on five targets, Dobson led the team in yards with 35, while Thompkins led the team in receptions with four.
This past week's joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was not ideal for Dobson, compounding his mediocre debut against the Eagles with a Tuesday practice that made for Tom Brady's worst completion percentage of this preseason. Brady went 13-for-21, and he threw eight passes to Dobson - only four were completed, and one Dobson dropped over the middle.
The response of the coaching staff was felt in this past game against the Bucs. Tom Brady was in for 25 snaps, and Dobson was only alongside Brady and company for two of those. That is down from eight last week, in which he was second in the receiver category. This reduction in snaps with the first team meant a boost for Kenbrell Thompkins and Danny Amendola who got 21 and 20, respectively. Keep in mind, Thompkins and Dobson had the same amount of snaps with the first team against the Eagles. In addition, this week, Josh Boyce had nine snaps with the first team and Julian Edelman had four, both exceeding Dobson's meager number of two.
This is by no means a permanent wide receiver depth chart, where Dobson would be currently ranked fifth. This is going to be a fluid group, and to think that the guy who carries the most raw talent and has the highest upside with his size, would be dropped to fifth on the depth chart simply because of a week or so of poor football is crazy. However, Dobson will have to improve if he expects to jump back up to the number two receiver in the corps.
