With the preseason wrapped up, eight thoughts on the state of the Patriots

COMMENTARY

Eight thoughts on the Patriots’ 22-20 preseason win over the Giants …

1. So much time and attention was spent on the here and now of the Patriots’ quarterback situation this preseason, and that is of course understandable. Quarterback is the most important position in sports, though maybe a proud hockey goalie here or there might wrongfully disagree.

The Patriots, blessed for nearly two decades with the best QB ever to play, haven’t had cause for debate at the position since Tom Brady seized the opportunity Mo Lewis so viciously gave him in September 2001. So of course the Cam Newton/Mac Jones who-should-it-be? conversation was irresistible, and our opinions were only amplified by the contrast of their different skill sets and statuses.

It seems apparent now that Newton will open the season as the starter; he played the first two series with the varsity offense Sunday night, while Jones got the backups. If the player wearing jersey No. 1 is indeed QB No. 1, that’s fine. Newton, flawed as he is, is easy to root for, and he does look better this season. This can work. It might even work well for a time.

2. But the bigger takeaway should be this: The Patriots have their QB of the future in Jones. There should be no doubt about this. Jones is the fastest-learning rookie the Patriots have had at quarterback since that skinny kid picked with the 199th selection in the 2000 draft.

He’s way ahead of where Jimmy Garoppolo — a potential Brady successor most of us believed in — was upon arrival in 2014. He’s had peaks and valleys, as expected, but the valleys aren’t too deep, and the peaks, including hitting 18 straight passes in a joint practice with the Giants this week, have at times been breathtaking.

He was impressive Sunday night in a different way, bouncing back after a plodding start to lead the Patriots on back-to-back touchdown drives in the second half. He made roster-fringe receivers like Isaiah Zuber and Kristian Wilkerson look playable. Darned if he doesn’t look better than most veterans, including the Giants’ QB named Jones, third-year player Daniel Jones.

3. I was going to suggest that playing with the backups — and the backups to the backups — has been a disadvantage for Jones, but maybe that’s not the case. He does get the chance to play with running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and J.J. Taylor, two of the Patriots’ most exciting offensive players during the preseason.

Stevenson and Taylor did their thunder-and-lightning routine again Sunday night, combining for 99 rushing yards and totaling at least a half-dozen dynamic plays between them. Stevenson got shouted out this week by ESPN’s Louis Riddick, who to me is the most trustworthy and candid assessor of talent in the national NFL media.

The Patriots have to find a way to involve Taylor in some Dion Lewis-type of plays. They need his speed.

4. I’d say I’m back in on Devin Asiasi, but honestly, I can’t remember if I was ever in on him in the first place. This we do know for certain: The second-year tight end delivered the most impressive performance of his fledgling career, regular season or preseason, Sunday night.

Asiasi had four catches against the Giants — one more than he had in nine games as a rookie — and two of them were the kind of plays that make one begin to think he could be decent insurance for Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry, and maybe even something more than that.

5. Asiasi’s first catch was a 19-yarder on the Patriots’ first drive of the second quarter, which ended with a 48-yard Quinn Nordin field goal and a 6-0 Patriots lead. The second was an even bigger play, a 30-yard catch-and-run on the second series of the second half, a drive that culminated with Stevenson’s 9-yard touchdown run and a 19-7 lead.

If Asiasi develops, Josh Uche and Kyle Duggar become what we think they’ll be, and Michael Onwenu turns into a building block on the line, that 2020 draft is going to look pretty good.

6. The Patriots need to sign another receiver. Zuber and Wilkerson combined for eight catches for 122 yards, and the former had a touchdown, but they look like Bam Childress All-Stars to me — decent receivers in the preseason who aren’t much help once the games count.

Nelson Agholor will have some games where he gets open deep like Stanley Morgan and others where he catches the ball like a broker at Morgan Stanley. Jakobi Meyers is good, but he’s not a No. 1. Kendrick Bourne is OK. Gunner Olszewski is too small and has unreliable mitts.

This is one spot on the roster that may require an addition or two after other teams make their cuts.

7. It was impressive, if a bit surprising, that J.C. Jackson was voted the 49th-best player in the league by his peers per the annual NFL Network countdown. The fourth-year cornerback is a fine player, but sometimes it takes young players — especially undrafted free agents — a little more time to earn their proper accolades.

Stephon Gilmore was a couple of spots ahead of Jackson on the countdown, at No. 47. I don’t think you’ll find many Patriots fans who believe the two players are actually that close. That’s my way of saying it’s imperative for the Patriots to work things out with Gilmore to maximize the possibilities of this talented and versatile defense.

8. Maybe it’s the No. 55, and yes, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but Josh Uche is starting to remind me a little bit of Don Blackmon, the bookend outside linebacker to Andre Tippett on some quarterback-tormenting Patriots teams in the mid ’80s.

Blackmon had 8 sacks in ‘85 and 7.5 in ‘86 before his career was abbreviated by a neck injury in ‘87. Uche, a second-round pick last season, was everywhere Sunday night, and would have made a Preseason All-Pro team if there were such a thing.