After wins against Washington and Minnesota, the New England Patriots’ preseason is already almost over. One game — an 8 p.m. ET matchup with the New York Giants on Thursday, Aug. 21 — awaits the club of head coach Mike Vrabel.
How much impact that contest will have on the composition of the Patriots’ initial 53-man roster remains to be seen; traditionally, the preseason finale is one last opportunity for roster bubble players to make a push. Given all we know, there are still multiple spots on the team
up for grabs.
What are they? Let’s take a look at the players we see as roster locks at this point in time — players whose names can be written in sharpie on your depth chart.
Patriots roster locks
Quarterback (2): Drake Maye, Joshua Dobbs
Running back (3): Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson (KR), Antonio Gibson
Wide receiver (6): Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams, Efton Chism III
Tight end (2): Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper
Offensive tackle (3): Will Campbell, Morgan Moses, Marcus Bryant
Interior offensive line (3): Mike Onwenu, Jared Wilson, Ben Brown
Interior defensive line (4): Christian Barmore, Milton Williams, Khyiris Tonga, Joshua Farmer
Defensive edge (4): Keion White, Harold Landry III, K’Lavon Chaisson, Bradyn Swinson
Linebacker (3): Robert Spillane, Christian Elliss, Jack Gibbens
Cornerback (4): Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis III, Marcus Jones (PR), Alex Austin
Safety (4): Jabrill Peppers, Jaylinn Hawkins, Craig Woodson, Brenden Schooler
Specialists (2): Bryce Baringer (P | H), Julian Ashby (LS)
If we count the players mentioned above, we get 40 roster locks at the moment. This means that 13 spots are still open for business with one preseason game remaining.
Next men up
Of course, those 13 spots are not evenly distributed across the roster — some positions are clearly more competitive than others. On offense, quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end are all pretty much set. The biggest question at those spots might be whether Jack Westover makes the club as a tight end/fullback hybrid.
The offensive line, meanwhile, remains a major work in progress as far as the roster is concerned. That includes the center spot: while Garrett Bradbury has manned the position ever since his arrival this offseason, his play especially as a pass blocker has left some to be desired. If roster locks Ben Brown and Jared Wilson can get the job done, Bradbury’s position might not be as secure as it seems at first glance.
As for the backup spots, we see between two or three of them unoccupied depending on what happens at center. If we had to make an educated guess, Vederian Lowe and Cole Strange are on the inside track at the moment: both can play various spots on the line, something not true for every other player at their respective positions. Of course, Strange also remains a potential trade candidate to watch.
Defensively, there might be space at every position. At defensive tackle, a player like Isaiah Iton might make a late push; he had a solid day on Saturday versus the Minnesota Vikings. On the edge, the likes of Anfernee Jennings, Truman Jones and Elijah Ponder are competing for what might at best be one spot. From our point of view, Ponder should be regarded the frontrunner given his special teams contributions.
Special teams might come into play as a decision-making tool at the second and third levels of the defense. This is why players like Montee Rice or Cam Riley could be in play for a fourth linebacker spot over somebody like currently-injured veteran Jahlani Tavai; then again, Tavai did run with the starters before he got banged up.
In the secondary, D.J. James appeared to be on his way to earn a depth role at cornerback, but he also recently missed time with an injury. This might have opened the door for Miles Battle and/or Jordan Polk to come in and push him off; both played a high number of kicking game snaps on Saturday, too. At safety, the big unknown is Kyle Dugger. Seemingly a lock just three weeks ago, he is now possibly on the outside looking in after sliding down the depth chart; the fourth true safety spot — not counting special teamer Brenden Schooler — going to him is no guarantee either.
Obviously, one more spot will go to the kicker. Neither Andy Borregales nor Parker Romo have really set themselves apart from their competition with two preseason contests down.
