Chemistry between Tom Brady, Phillip Dorsett will be pivotal early in regular season

Phillip Dorsett hasn't had the most illustrious tenure with the New England Patriots from an outside perspective. Having only caught 44 passes over the past two regular seasons, the former Indianapolis Colt has flown under the radar after failing to live up to the hype he brought as a first round pick in 2015.

Putting all stats aside, what isn't looked at enough is Dorsett's value to the Patriots' offense, specifically Tom Brady, who has an immense amount trust in the veteran wideout, something he doesn't have with many of the other new/young receivers on the team.

"Phillip is a guy that I’ve played a lot of football with, and I have a lot of trust in – experience is a great thing in football if you use it well, and I think our experience together pays off," Tom Brady said following Thursday night's 10-3 preseason win over the Carolina Panthers. "I read his body language. I think the great thing about Phil, he takes advantage of his opportunities. A lot of guys have been injured this preseason. Phil plays all three wide receiver positions, remembers all the coaching points from all the times we’ve talked about certain things.

"Even though he may not have done it, he goes in there and does it the way that Coach wants it done. I love playing with Phil. He’s been a great contributor to our team, and he had a great night."

Brady's familiarity and chemistry with Dorsett is the same reason the 42 year old completed 5-of-5 passes to the wideout in the three series the entire first-team offense was out on the field against Carolina.

With Josh Gordon coming back but his reliability uncertain, N'Keal Harry battling an injury while also in his rookie season, Demaryius Thomas entering his first season as a Patriot and a list of tight ends that have no rapport with Brady, outside of Julian Edelman, Phillip Dorsett is the only target that New England's quarterback is in sync with before the regular season kicks off.

In September when Brady is still building a relationship on the field with the aforementioned receivers, his trust with Edelman and Dorsett will come in handy as the air raids gels together. With Edelman in the slot and Dorsett outside the numbers or vice versa, Brady will have two wideouts he can rely on as a projected dominant offense takes form. That is why the idea that Dorsett could have been on the roster bubble ahead of their Week 3 game vs. the Panthers was absurd. His value to the offense is similar to what Edelman provides; a security blanket for the HOF quarterback.