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Former New England Patriots linebacker Marquis Flowers has taken to Twitter frequently as of late to play matchmaker for his former team and current players.
Earlier in January, he talked about advising Arizona Cardinals WR AJ Green to join the Patriots during the 2021 offseason. In a recent tweet on January 17, Flowers had his eyes on the long-discussed union between Odell Beckham Jr. and New England.
“Get OBJ in a Patriots Jersey and let’s run this s*** back,” Flowers wrote.
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Beckham Is Looking Good in L.A.
There have been countless rumors linking Beckham to the Patriots over the past few years and New England showed an interest in signing him in November after he was released by the Cleveland Browns.
Beckham chose the Rams and so far, it has worked out well. The Rams are still alive in the playoffs, Beckham had 4 receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals in the NFC Wild Card round. He even completed a pass for 40 yards.
The Rams next take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Divisional Round. Depending on how healthy Beckham is after this season, he could be a viable option for the Patriots, but if he is too expensive, it won’t be a practical concept.
Patriots Wide Receivers Who Need to Be Replaced
Whether the Patriots go after Beckham again or not, there are at least two wide receivers on the roster who need to be replaced. First on the list is N’Keal Harry.
While he found something of a niche as a crack blocker in the run game, Harry still hasn’t found a way to get open consistently. He has played just 33 games in three seasons and during that span, he has just 57 receptions for 598 yards and 4 touchdowns.
To put that into perspective, his teammate Jakobi Meyers, who entered the NFL at the same time–but as an undrafted free agent–had 83 receptions for 866 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2021.
Harry has failed to make an impact the team expected when they drafted him in the first round back in 2019 and it is time to clear a roster spot for a receiver who can make an impact.
The same can be said for Gunner Olszewski. He had a solid season as a return man in 2020 when he made the Pro Bowl. However, he regressed in that area in 2021 failing to reach the end zone this past season and never springing a return longer than 37 yards on a punt or kickoff.
Olszewski has never established himself as a viable threat in the passing game, and quite frankly, the Patriots need playmakers there if they hope to offer more from a vertical standpoint.
Lastly, the Patriots have to make a serious decision on what to do with Nelson Agholor. New England signed him this past offseason with hopes he would become a downfield threat. That didn’t happen.
Agholor had 37 receptions for 473 yards and 3 scores in 2021. The Patriots might consider giving him a little more of an opportunity considering they had a rookie quarterback who they didn’t appear to trust to throw the ball deep often.
Mac Jones had only 62 passes last season that qualified as deep-ball attempts. That was 15th in the NFL, and quite honestly, Agholor needs to see more of those passes if he’s going to be successful. Because of this, Agholor may get another look, but the time should be up for Harry and Olszewski.
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