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3 Players That Should Take Big Leap in Year Two With Patriots

We take a look at three players in their second year with the team that could really take a huge step forward this season.
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With Bill Belichick attempting to fill the New England Patriots' roster with young talent this offseason, there will be a big need for some of the younger, but more experienced players on the roster to step up and produce in big ways next season. Some of those players will come from the group in which 2019 was their first season with New England. 

Let's take a look at three players that should take a big leap in their second year with the Patriots. 

*Note: Three notable players who will not be considered for this list are Jarrett Stidham, Yondy Cajuste, and Damien Harris. They all did not play enough snaps last year to even have a leap from year one to two. All three will essentially be rookies coming into this season. 

3. Terrence Brooks

Terrence Brooks just edged out a fellow defensive back, Joejuan Williams, for the third spot on this list. While both will probably find themselves relatively low on the depth charts at their respective positions, it is Brooks who had more of an impact last year and will likely have a bigger impact this year as well. 

After Brooks signed with New England last offseason, his contributions were largely anticipated to just stem from special teams. However, Brooks surprised many by turning in an impressive year in a backup safety role. Brooks got a lot more time on defense than originally anticipated and earned that time as well. 

Brooks is one guy who will almost definitely be one to move around the field and be used in many different situations. Last season, we saw Brooks play safety (of course), but he also played some slot corner and some linebacker at times. 

Terrence Brooks will be a valuable chess piece in the Patriots' evolving defense, which I expect to be centered around the large safety room New England currently has. 

2. Chase Winovich 

As of now, Chase Winovich has been the best pickup of last offseason, by large measures. Winovich ended his rookie year as the second-ranked edge defender among rookies. The only edge defender in the NFL that he ranked behind was none other than Nick Bosa. Yes, the reigning AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. That was all despite Winovich being the seventh edge defender selected in the 2019 draft class. 

The value that the Patriots received from that pick already has become apparent, however, the second year pass-rusher really has an opportunity to make a real name for himself across the NFL landscape. With Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins vacating the scene this offseason, Winovich is one of, if not the best pass-rusher remaining on New England's roster. One has to think that the defensive minds on the sideline are going to find ways to open up the rushing lanes for Winovich. With that, he should find plenty of prosperity this upcoming season. 

1. N'Keal Harry 

After an extremely disappointing first season for N'Keal Harry, all he can do in the public's mind is go up. His first season in the league was filled with lofty expectations and unfair comparisons to former star players like Randy Moss. Fans expected Brady/Harry connection to be like the Brady/Moss connection, however, instead they got more of a Brady/Aaron Dobson connection from 2015. With those high expectations and a failure to meet them, it seems like that is now breeding extremely low expectations from the public for N'Keal Harry. 

With Harry working very hard this offseason, we can likely project that he is somewhere in between Randy Moss level and Aaron Dobson level. In all seriousness, Harry has actually been working a ton on his footwork this offseason, which was a big factor in him being such a non-factor down the stretch last season. 

If Harry can start to run crisper, cleaner routes and gain separation against NFL corners, things should really start to open up for him. Those things he needs to accomplish stem directly from footwork and technique. If we see a more technical Harry come into training camp, not only will he be a more dependable receiver, he will also find a bigger variety of ways in which he can be used.