NFL teams
Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Danny Amendola's playing time is down, but his impact remains high

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Through three regular-season games, the snaps played by New England Patriots wide receivers have provided early-season insight on how the coaching staff views the group.

Chris Hogan -- 175 of 215

Julian Edelman -- 169 of 215

Malcolm Mitchell -- 87 of 215

Danny Amendola -- 51 of 215

Perhaps most notable is seeing Amendola, the trusted slot receiver, lagging so far behind the others. As a point of comparison, he had played 124 offensive snaps through the first three games in 2015.

But while Amendola’s time on the field has been limited, his impact hasn’t.

His third-and-15 conversion on the go-ahead fourth-quarter drive in the season-opening win over the Arizona Cardinals was one of the plays of the game, as his knack for finding open space down the field showed up. He added another big third-and-15 conversion in the second quarter of Thursday’s win over the Houston Texans, this time highlighting his shifty moves after the catch.

Amendola also has caught two touchdown passes, as he has nine catches for 119 yards, while returning five punts for 51 yards in helping the Patriots win the field-position game.

This has made him similar to a clutch pinch-hitter in baseball; he’s not playing as much as the regulars, but his knack for delivering when called upon highlights his value to the team.

“The plays that he has been in there for have been important ones: third down, red area, two-minute, punt return, things like that, and he has done a really good job three weeks in a row now in those situations,” coach Bill Belichick remarked Sunday. “He has made a big difference in some significant plays in every game with that.”

Offensively, Amendola has played exclusively in the team’s three-receiver package, but there have been times when the Patriots call on three receivers and still keep him on the sideline in favor of a Hogan-Edelman-Mitchell trio.

The reduced playing time comes after Amendola missed all of training camp while on the physically unable to perform list, which might explain why his usage is down as significantly as it is through three games. But the Patriots are also more talented at receiver this year compared to 2015, with promising beginnings for Hogan (free-agent signee) and Mitchell (fourth-round draft choice).

When I asked Amendola on Friday if he felt like the first three games were almost like his preseason, he resisted, and said like any player he wants to be on the field as much as possible. But as a team-first player, he’s happy to take what he gets and make the most of it.

He has done just that.

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