Some Thoughts on Free Agency Day 2

 Today marks Day 2 of NFL Free Agency. In that time, the New England Patriots have signed Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith and Nelson Agholor.

If you’ve been paying attention to what I’ve been saying, you’re paying attention to what Billy B is doing.

I said it last week: Two Tight Ends. Bang the middle of the field. The national guys are starting to say it now, too. They’re remembering Gronk and Hernandez. They’re remembering Billy B’s Tight Ends of the past. And now he’s got a big-bodied receiver who has lived running deep crossers.

Brilliant.

The Patriots are back.

And if Miami is smart, they match this.

The story goin ’round is that the Patriots free agency board had Pass Catchers including all the Tight Ends and Wide Receivers.

Let me reset my focus on this thought for a moment. Let’s shift the camera, if you like.

I think Cethan Carter was maybe my favorite free agent signing of the offseason.

I love Fullbacks. I grew up playing Mike Allstott in Madden as my dad’s Player 2. Blowing linebackers and corners up at the line of scrimmage or swinging around the edge into the second level is actually a ton of fun.

Cethan Carter is a football player. He’s going to be a core special teams contributor, and he’s going to add depth at the Tight End and Fullback positions. He’ll play the Charles Clay H-Back role.

I was watching Brian Baldinger discuss Kyle Juszczyk of the 49ers. He broke down a game where he played 50 offensive snaps but never touched the ball. He’s a decoy, a blocker, a football player.

I’m very excited about what Cethan Carter means about the direction of this offense. Mostly because it doesn’t anywhere near close the door on Miami taking Kyle Pitts with the third overall in a couple months. It means they want to run the ball. They want to be versatile. And they want to throw out of the backfield.

Malcolm Brown is a name I admittedly overlooked in my writing, but circled in my mind as someone they could actually target. He’s a career backup. An unqualified change of pace guy. Signing another change of pace guy means they don’t have their starter on the roster. Which makes it all the more likely they target someone at the top of the draft.

I think for my next piece I’ll look at the runners in this draft class. See you there!

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