FOXBORO – We’ve blabbed plenty in the past week about the Patriots importing size at the wide receiver position.
What we haven’t gotten is a DB’s point of view on the influx of big guys and what it might afford the Patriots offense.
Duron Harmon gave us that on Thursday.
“They're not just tall, but they're big, strong,” said the Patriots seventh-year safety. “Going against receivers like that, it makes it a lot tougher on you. With their catch radius, they're able to use their body to get open a little bit more.
“You've got to be more physical with them, but you can't get into too (much) of a physical match, because at the end of the day they might end up overpowering you,” he added.
I don’t want to get to the point where it seems like the Patriots have been running nothing but Lilliputians out there for two decades. This is a team that trotted out Rob Gronkowski, Cordarelle Patterson and Josh Gordon for several games last year. But the common denominator to the pass-catchers they’ve brought in is size. And that will be on display during camp.
New England Patriots
“You might have to go back and forth with how you're playing them,” said Harmon. “Hopefully they bring some of that mismatch to our offense and do a good job scoring some points.”
The side benefit of having these varied receivers? The Patriots defenders will get a crash course in dealing with it all summer long.
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