For the New England Patriots, the future is now. At least it might have to be if they want to rebuild their playoff streak.
The Patriots' opening-day roster will feature 10 rookies on their 53-man roster when they kick-off on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins (1 p.m. ET, CBS). While some of the freshman class (i.e. Pierre Strong, Bailey Zappe) is destined for patience through projects, others will play major roles in getting the Patriots back to the postseason following their return to the AFC bracket after a one-year absence.
Pats Pulpit includes some expected candidates in ranking the top rookies by potential immediate impact ... first-round blocker Cole Strange leads the way with third pick and defender Marcus Jones alongside him. But an unexpected entry is safety Brenden Schooler, an undrafted prospect out of Texas who is widely expected to contribute on special teams.
Schooler impressed well enough during the preseason that the Patriots were willing to part ways with four-year New Englander Justin Bethel. His efforts should help the Patriots maintain a strong prescience in their return coverage, where they ranked 14th in average kick returned allowed and were one of only 12 teams not to let up a 40-yard runback last season.
Schooler, who also spent his college career at Oregon, earned praise from Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, whose recent squads have often relied upon the efforts of lauded specialists like Bethel and Matthew Slater.
"He did a good job at Texas, that's where we noticed him and signed him as a free agent after the draft," Belichick said of Schooler. "I think some of the things we've seen this year in the kicking game are the same things he showed at Texas: versatility, speed, play speed, aggressiveness, instincts in coverage. That's shown up, there's still a lot of things he needs to improve on and understand."
Seeing Strange and Jones at the top is no surprise, especially with second-round receiver Tyquan Thornton set to miss the early stages of the season on injured reserve. Strange will be relied upon as the Patriots' primary left guard while Jones could play in the secondary and join Schooler as a special teams contributor.
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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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