Patriots Post-Bye Depth Chart: Where Do Duke Dawson, Obi Melifonwu Fit In?

The New England Patriots have their work cut out for them over the final six weeks of the season.

The Patriots are 7-3 and fighting a battle on a slight incline to try to earn a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs against the Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers and, to a lesser degree, the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans.

Here’s the team they’ll be working with. Let’s look at their post-bye week depth chart.

QUARTERBACK

Tom Brady

Brian Hoyer

Honest question: Would fickle Patriots fans be calling for Brady’s job after last Sunday’s performance if Jimmy Garoppolo was still on the team? The answer should be no but is probably yes.

RUNNING BACK

Sony Michel

Rex Burkhead (IR)

Cordarrelle Patterson

The Patriots will go one more week with depleted running back depth until Burkhead can return in time for Week 13 against the Minnesota Vikings. When Burkhead comes back, he’ll cut into Michel’s carries, but we still expect the rookie to be the primary bell-cow runner.

SUB BACK

James White

Burkhead (IR)

Burkhead could also take some catches away from White on early downs. White should be the guy on third down, however.

FULLBACK

James Devevlin

He’s on an island here. It’s a gritty island. Lunchpail Island.

WIDE RECEIVER

Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon

Chris Hogan

Phillip Dorsett

Cordarrelle Patterson

Matthew Slater

Edelman and Gordon are wide receivers Nos. 1a and 1b on the Patriots. Hogan has been the No. 3 since Edelman returned and Gordon emerged. It’s possible Dorsett could start eating into Hogan’s snaps, however.

TIGHT END

Rob Gronkowski

Dwayne Allen

Jacob Hollister

Allen injured his knee in Week 10. He reportedly could miss some time, making Gronkowski’s expected return from back and ankle injuries in Week 12 all the more important.

OFFENSIVE LINE

LT Trent Brown, LG Joe Thuney, C David Andrews, RG Shaq Mason, RT Marcus Cannon

iOL Ted Karras, OT LaAdrian Waddle

iOL James Ferentz

OT Matt Tobin

Karras and Waddle have been solid backups so far this season. Mason missed two games with a calf injury. We’ll see if he can return in Week 12.

DEFENSIVE END

Trey Flowers, Deatrich Wise

Keionta Davis

Adrian Clayborn

John Simon

Derek Rivers

Wise has started the Patriots’ last three games.

And yes, Davis does appear to be above Clayborn on the depth chart right now. Davis has played more snaps than Clayborn in every one of the Patriots’ last three games.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Lawrence Guy, Malcom Brown

Danny Shelton

Adam Butler

Shelton has taken a backseat to Guy and Brown in recent weeks. Butler is simply the Patriots’ sub interior rusher.

LINEBACKER

Dont’a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy

Elandon Roberts

Albert McClellan

Ramon Humber

Brandon King

The Patriots have added McClellan and Humber in recent weeks. They replace Nicholas Grigsby on the Patriots’ linebacker depth chart. McClellan and Humber are older and slower than Grigsby, but they’re better suited to play defense with more NFL experience.

CORNERBACK

Stephon Gilmore, Jason McCourty

Jonathan Jones

JC Jackson

Keion Crossen

Duke Dawson

We’ll put Dawson last on the Patriots’ cornerback depth chart for now, but don’t be surprised if he starts to eat into Jones’ slot snaps.

SAFETY

Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung

Duron Harmon

Nate Ebner

Obi Melifonwu

Melifonwu signed a two-year deal, and we wouldn’t be surprised if doesn’t receive significant defensive reps until 2019, if ever. He’s a massive presence at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, but he has just 34 NFL defensive snaps to his name.

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Stephen Gostkowski, P Ryan Allen, LS Joe Cardona