Patriots Question of the Day: Who will be team's breakout star in 2022?
FOXBORO -- With the 2022 Patriots season inching closer and closer, the WBZ-TV/CBS Boston sports team will tackle a new question surrounding the team each day leading up to Sunday's opener in Miami.
After going slightly negative on Wednesday with our biggest concerns, today the sports team highlights a player (or two) who they believe will break out in 2022. There is no shortage of options on either side of the ball -- or at least we hope.
Steve Burton, WBZ-TV Sports
I would have loved to have picked Tyquan Thornton, but we won't see him until midseason. I think Jonnu Smith has a shot, but they have to figure out the best way to get him the ball.
Instead, I'll go with two players: Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson.
Dan Roche, WBZ-TV Sports
Kyle Dugger. The third-year safety had four picks, five tackles for a loss, two QB hits and was second on the team in tackles with 92 last season. The athletic second-round pick has a chance to take his game to an even higher level in 2022.
Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
Cole Strange. Just kidding. I think Marcus Jones will make himself known on punt return, and he's bound to break one or two big ones in that role.
Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
I think Rhamondre Stevenson is going to have a monster year, but I'm saving him for an even bigger topic in this space. For the 2022 breakout star, I'll go with Christian Barmore.
Sure, we already know plenty about the big guy in New England. But he's going to erupt on a national level this season for stuffing the run and applying some serious pressure on quarterbacks. With the secondary a big question mark, the Patriots are going to need some of their big bodies to harass quarterbacks. Barmore may not rack up big sack numbers, but he can make life extremely difficult for anyone trying to throw a football.
Tune in to Patriots-Dolphins on WBZ-TV -- the television home of the New England Patriots! Coverage continues Friday night on WBZ-TV at 7 p.m. with Patriots All Access. Sunday's coverage kicks off at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay, the Patriots and the Dolphins get underway at 1 p.m., and after the game switch over to Patriots 5th Quarter on TV38 for full reaction and analysis!
