Pats Pulpit
With Drake Maye on the roster, McDaniels might dust off some of his old quarterback run concepts.
Wedged between eras and taking place in the midst of a global pandemic, the New England Patriots’ 2020 season is most notable for being the first after long-time quarterback Tom Brady’s departure.
While Brady was busy adding to his legacy and leading Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl win, the Patriots had to reinvent themselves on the offensive side of the ball. They did so by bringing in former league MVP Cam Newton, and designing an offense centered around the run game — including the quarterback.
The bottom line was, admittedly, not impressive. The Patriots missed the playoffs with a 7-9 record and ended the year ranked in the bottom third in scoring and scoring efficiency; they ended up drafting Mac Jones 15th overall the following offseason and eventually moved on from Newton in August 2021.
However, with Josh McDaniels returning for a third stint as the team’s offensive coordinator, and with dual-threat QB Drake Maye now running the show in New England, a look back to 2020 is warranted. At the very least, it might give us an idea about what to expect from the Patriots this coming season in case they dow want to lean heavy into the quarterback run game for the first time since Newton’s departure.
So, let’s take a look at some of the concepts McDaniels drew up five years ago and what they might look like in 2025.
Power/long trap: Power and trap are similar plays, using a combination of a double team and a pulling backside guard to create an opening to the front of the play.
The Patriots used those concepts — which are, in basic terms, variations of the same idea — quite a bit in 2020. They were able to because they did not only have a 6-foot-5, 245-pound quarterback capable of hitting the hole and taking on incoming defenders but also two of the best guards in the NFL: Joe Thuney and Shaq Mason were superb pullers capable of identifying their targets and clearing space.
The Patriots’ starting guards in 2025 performing at the same consistent level — whoever they will be — should not necessarily be expected. That said, the likes of Cole Strange, Michael Onwenu and Layden Robinson have shown in the past that they have the short-area burst and physical attitude to execute power and trap plays if asked to do so.
Counter: As with every offensive concept, there are variations over variations. The basic goal remains the same each time, though: create numbers advantages in the box by pulling linemen — usually the backside tackle and guard — across the formation; teams also use fullbacks, tight ends or receivers to perform those down blocks.
The first play below, a Cam Newton touchdown run against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, sees guard Shaq Mason and off-set fullback Jakob Johnson as the blockers...
