The New England Patriots have traded a second-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons for receiver Mohamed Sanu.
There have been a lot of fans and experts alike claiming the team paid too high a price for a ‘second-string’ receiver. While Sanu may not be the player some people expected or even wanted, this was a great move by New England.
Bill Belichick just gave Tom Brady a 6-foot-2, 225-pound wideout who can go up and make the contested catch, take a quick slant route and run for 20 yards or block on the outside for run plays. Oh, and he can throw the ball pretty well.
Mohamed Sanu is bringing his deep ball to New England 🔥🔥 @Mo_12_Sanu pic.twitter.com/TtVmwA2DNQ
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) October 22, 2019
That type of versatility is something the Patriot offense has been missing this year.
With Julian Edelman and Phillip Dorsett acting as glorified slot receivers and Josh Gordon landing on the IR, Brady is really limited with what he has to work with. Sure, first-round draft pick N’Keal Harry should be coming back next week, but it’s tough to put a lot of responsibility on a rookie who’ll be playing his first meaningful NFL snaps halfway into the season.
This is why picking up Sanu will pay dividends for this team.
Last year, Sanu was balling out. With 66 receptions (One shy of his career season high) and a personal-best 838 yards, he was one of the lone bright spots on an underachieving 7-9 Falcons team.
While his stats this year are less than impressive, it’s tough to put all the blame on the player. Atlanta has a pitiful 1-6 record while Matt Ryan is playing some of his worst football in years. Coach Dan Quinn is expected to be relieved of his duties any day now. It’s tough to produce when your team continues to fail week in and week out.
It’s not because of a lack of skill for Sanu either. He is fifth in yard separation per target with 3.7 yards.
Mohamed Sanu averages 3.7 yards of separation when targeted this season, 5th-best among wide receivers (min. 20 targets).
Sanu brings versatility to the @Patriots receiving corp, having aligned in the slot on over 50% of snaps in each of the last 3 seasons.#GoPats pic.twitter.com/pLBrdJkF8t
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 22, 2019
That means that Brady no longer has to deal with all of his receivers struggling to get open on their own. Sanu is talented enough to where he can create separation himself which will make things much easier for his quarterback.
The team also won’t have to worry about any diva behavior from this player. Sanu is used to taking a backseat to other star receivers after being behind AJ Green when he was with the Cincinnati Bengals or Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley while he was with the Falcons. So if his targets fluctuate throughout the season, no one should expect any pouting on the sidelines or locker room antics.
This is the ideal Belichick signing. A veteran receiver who will produce when given the chance and won’t cause any drama off the field. The only question now is how is anyone going to stop this team.
