With all new receivers, and with question marks all across the offense last season the Patriots really could have benefited from a rookie stepping up and playing well consistently..... What they got instead was a man labelled "dropson" for the first half of the season.
After being injured for the first few weeks of last season Aaron Dobson came onto the field and looked completely out of synch. No one could question Dobson's ability to get open, unfortunately he was always on a different page, heck reading a different book than his quarterback. Even when him and Brady read the defense the same way Dobson was riddled with drops particularly early on.
Luckily for Dobson and in some way the New England Patriots the young receiver had an above average middle/end to the season most notably against the Steelers when Dobson ran right past the defense multiple times for big gains.
With his explosive plays on display late in the season many fans and analyst expect Aaron Dobson to make the famed "second year leap". The sophomore season has been good to many receivers around the NFL in the past few year as they start to click within their offense and with their quarterback. The most recent example of a terrific leap being made in the second season could be seen this past season in Chicago. The Bear's Alshon Jeffery transitioned from 367 yards his rookie season to an outstanding 1,421 yards his sophomore year.
At 6'3'' and 216lbs Jeffery has almost the same measurables as Dobson (6'3'' 200lbs) and with Dobson running a slightly faster 40 time (4.42 compared to 4.48) while also having the better quarterback in Tom Brady many expect a second year leap comparable to Jeffery's.
The only problem with Dobson's possible second year leap is that he hasn't played football since his surgery in March. With his surgery happening later in the off-season Dobson is now questionable for the beginning of training camp. Whether he is ready for camp or not Dobson's injury will likely hamper any reps he may get with the offense early on.
If unable to get valuable reps particularly with Brady then Aaron Dobson will not be having the breakout season that everyone expects. The same disconnect between Brady and Dobson will appear early in the season because they were unable to work through these issues in the preseason.
With nearly unlimited potential at the wide receiver position Aaron Dobson is going to break out with the Patriots, it's just a matter of when. Unfortunately for New England this may be sooner rather than later thanks to the injury nagging Dobson. Because of this look for Dobson to be huge in the second half rather than right away.
