Patriots: 3 receivers to target in free agency for Cam Newton

The Lions are rebuilding, so why not take away one of their building blocks?

If Marvin Jones is down to reunite with his former Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia, then he should seriously consider making his way to the Patriots in his impending free agency. Though he may be a valued commodity for new Lions head coach Dan Campbell and new general manager Brad Holmes, Detroit has plenty of other issues to worry about ahead of its inevitable rebuild.

Since coming to the Lions in 2016, Jones has amassed 289 catches for 4,296 yards and 36 receiving touchdowns, pretty much doubling all of his stats accumulated with his first NFL team in the Cincinnati Bengals over three seasons. Jones may have benefited on the receiving end of Matthew Stafford passes, but Newton is a former NFL MVP who can still sling it at 32-years-old.

While Jones has had a great deal of individual success in his nine-year NFL career out of Cal, he has not been part of a team that has won a single playoff game. Though the Patriots missed out on the AFC playoffs a year ago for the first time since 2008, they used to be a staple in the AFC Championship game. Together, maybe Jones and Newton get the Patriots offense back to good?

Ultimately, Jones will be one of the biggest name receivers to be hitting free agency this spring. He and Hilton are among the most notable players who could be moving. However, Jones is still in the midst of his athletic prime, as he had 76 catches for 978 yards and nine touchdown receptions a season ago. He could be the No. 1 receiver the Patriots have been looking for for a very long time.

Overall, the Patriots have the financial resources to address their lackluster receiving corps appropriately in free agency. Belichick does a better job of evaluating other team’s players than he does trying to figure out if a college star’s game translates to the next level. While he should certainly do both, he may find greater success by way of 2021 NFL free agency at wide receiver.

What wide receiver targets should the Patriots target in 2021 to make things easier for Newton?