We've Got Our First Radical Patriots Experiment of 2019: Danny Etling is Now a WR

Hold on a second. Can Danny Etling, a 7th round sophomore quarterback is no longer wearing a non-contact jersey and is running with the receivers? Camp has no sooner begun and the Patriots are going completely unorthodox, moving someone to a skill position he’s never played before???

I did NOT see this coming. Which is my way of just trying not to pull something patting myself on the back because it’s early in camp and I don’t want to strain myself. Because I totally saw them doing something like this just yesterday afternoon:

So here’s what I think we’ll see: One of the Patriots’ classic, outside-the-box-thinking jobs, where they try to coach up players to switch from other positions to play tight end. Think Troy Brown at cornerback, Julian Edelman at safety or Cordarelle Patterson at running back. Look around the roster and you see some freakishly athletic metahumans who could potentially be tight ends in limited duty.

OK, so I was talking about tight ends. And perhaps I didn’t specifically mention Etling. So I hit the 9-Ring and not the bullseye. Like I said, camp only just started. There’s a long way to go. Give me a few practice reps before I get completely dialed in. Besides, the fact Etling is running routes could very well mean that they’re looking at him at tight end. He’s 6-foot-2 1/2 and 222 pounds, which is too light to be a traditional, inline Y. But he could be in their plans as a hybrid “move” tight end, playing detached or in the slot.

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Nevertheless, this is utterly fascinating. And would be the most Patriots move ever if it works out. And really is not that far fetched for a team that converted another 7th round quarterback into a receiver and turned him into a Super Bowl MVP.

It’s not like Etling doesn’t have the athleticism to make the switch. Here are his Combine results:

Or here, if spiderweb graphs are more your thing:

Show me a guy with close to a sub-7:00 in the  3-Cone Drill and I’ll show you someone they can turn into a productive receiver over the middle and in the flats. And in the little time we got to see in him fakegame action last year, he did this:

Plus he was taking reps with the Special Teams during minicamp, which should’ve been a dead giveaway. And so we’re only one day into the season and we’ve already witnessed our first ballsy personnel move by the franchise that has perfected the art of unorthodox thinking. Potentially turning a guy who’s a lock to be cut if he stays at QB into a big WR/small TE. And to perhaps give them a chance to throw some 2-quarterback looks at defenses to keep them off balance, the way the Saints do with Taysom Hill.

And with Julian Edelman not being able to catch balls for three weeks thanks to a broken thumb, Etling will have that many more chances to see if the bold experiment has a chance of working.

The rest of the league is playing chess. While Belichick continues to play 7-level Vulcan chess.