As the 2018 Patriots meet in humid Foxborough this week for the opening of training camp, a stark reality exists at the top of the wide receiver depth chart.
After appearing in yet another Super Bowl last season, New England will enter the new campaign minus its two leading wide receivers from a year ago. Both Brandin Cooks (traded to the Rams) and Danny Amendola (signed with the Dolphins in free agency) are gone.
In their place remains a formidable group of receivers, varied in both age and capability. Yet uncertainty reigns, especially as the assumed leader of the group is suspended for the opening month of the regular season.