3 Players To Watch in Patriots’ Week 17 Matchup vs. Jets
Here they are, your 2020 New England Patriots shaping up to put a close to their disappointing season. In their final, ultimate matchup of the season, the Patriots will be squaring off against the team with arguably the most disappointing season of all -- Adam Gase and the New York Jets.
With draft positioning being the only thing at stake in this Sunday's matchup, the players to watch in this contest will most certainly be the youngsters, and or guys who may still have outlasting question marks about their future with the team. Let's start off with one player who, after last week, will have at least some question marks about his future.
J.C. Jackson
This will not be the game that will decide whether or not Jackson can be New England's No. 1 cornerback going forward. Facing off against a team picking within the top three of the draft is not necessarily a golden opportunity for Jackson to prove his worth. However, heading into the offseason when he is set to be a restricted free agent, and with question marks around the future of injured Stephon Gilmore, everything spells Bill Belichick trying to tender Jackson and rid of the Gilmore contract for extra funds. But a brazen move of this nature makes little sense if Jackson is not capable of holding his own against the top receivers in the league.
Jackson won't have an opportunity to play against a premier receiver this week. In fact, Jackson will be facing off against the league's worst ranked pass attack in terms of yardage per game. However, despite the bad passing attack, it's crucial for Jackson's sake that he play well in the season finale. Another bad game against another No. 1 wide receiver would start setting off alarm bells in Belichick's office for sure.
Joejuan Williams
Another player with a rather uncertain future is second-year defensive back Joejuan Williams. He's a guy who has been struggling to find playing time among a very loaded secondary. When the score got out of hand last week against the Buffalo Bills, he ended up seeing some extended work and did well with his opportunities.
With this game against the Jets, Williams could definitely see some opportunities to gain some more in-game experience. Getting Williams up to speed with regular season reps could be crucial as he is someone who could see an extended role on the outside corner spot. This game could be a real opportunity for him to gain his footing in the league.
James White
There's reason to suspect that this could be the last game for White as a Patriot. It's been a great run for a player who has been a key part to this offense since 2015, when he would first see playing time as a second-year draft pick out of Wisconsin. He's now a three-time Super Bowl champion, along with an instrumental role in the comeback in Super Bowl 51 against the Atlanta Falcons.
With White not getting any younger (closing in on 29 in Feburary), it seems unlikely that New England will be willing to pay him any contract of substantial value or anything of some length. Especially with the up-and-coming J.J. Taylor who Belichick spoke highly of this week. Paying an aging White to a multi-year contract with Taylor, Sony Michel, and Damien Harris already likely in that backfield doesn't make a ton of sense. Especially for a team like the Patriots that needs to start emphasizing getting younger and getting their young guys playing time.
While obviously no one is hoping for a parting of ways here, it might just happen. If so, I would recommend enjoying any involvement that White sees on Sunday. While White's involvement has been very puzzling this year, to say the least, he could potentially see some work in the passing game. Against a New York team who has given up a good chunk to running backs catching the ball out of the backfield, White caught four out of five targets in the Week 9 matchup earlier in the year. That marked his fourth highest target share of the season thus far.
This being the final edition of "3 Players to Watch" for the year, a few more honorable mentions are in order, as a sort of bonus edition. With that, briefly, three more guys to keep your eye on. Well, more like a player and two positions:
1. Quarterback
The quarterback position goes without saying. Both Cam Newton and Jarrett Stidham could potentially see action in this game. While there really isn't much more to discover with this group, both Stidham and Newton could be asked to do some more bold, new, maybe even more innovative things by playcaller Josh McDaniels. Here's to hope that this group mixes some things around, and more or less, experiments with their offense on Sunday.
2. Running Back
Both Michel and Taylor are worth watching. Both should be heavily involved in this Sunday's gameplan and both are coming off strong displays. Michel much more than Taylor, as his success has been over a slew of games. Look to see what they can do as they appear to be a part of this offense's future.
3. Justin Herron
Lastly, the New England coaching staff will be closely monitoring Herron as they have some upcoming decisions to make at right tackle. With Isaiah Wynn returning next season, Michael Onwenu will be primed to slide somewhere else along the line. That spot will likely be at left guard with a pending Joe Thuney departure. It could come down to Herron and Marcus Cannon to decide the future of the right tackle spot, however, speculation looms to whether Cannon will be retiring this offseason. The Patriots could be looking at their starting right tackle next season and they will have to decide if he is ready to handle that load, especially in pass protection. Sunday will be a part of the determining factor.
