New England Patriots

4 New England Patriots players we want to see more out of in Week 4

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 2:02 a.m. ET

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James White (28) of the New England Patriots. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The New England Patriots are off to a terrific start this season, but there are a handful of players we want to see some better play from in the next game.

Here are five players that will be on watch against the Buffalo Bills:

4. James White

James White’s play has been solid thus far, but we are looking for a bit more out of the running back against the Bills. He’s caught eight balls for 52 yards and taken eight handoffs for 35 yards through the first three games.

While those aren’t numbers to sneeze at by any means, White is going to need a big performance sometime before Dion Lewis returns to the team of the PUP if he wants to a remain a central figure in the Patriots’ offense.

Furthermore, one of the ways for the Patriots to skirt around a heated Buffalo pass rush that sacked Carson Palmer five times last week is to expose the unit via the short passing game, such as dipping and dunking to White in the flat.

This writer is looking for White to surpass 60 total yards from scrimmage on the day.

Cyrus Jones (24) of the New England Patriots. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

3. Cyrus Jones

Cyrus Jones makes this list because his playing time has increased each week, going from five snaps in Week 1 to eight snaps against the Miami Dolphins and a big jump to 33 snaps on Thursday night. As such, we’re looking for big things out of Jones in Week 4.

This could come in the form of a game-changing punt return; Jones is averaging a stalwart 11.0 yards per return right now. Or, Jones could get his mitts in the way of a few passes, maybe even intercepting one.

It doesn’t matter how Jones steps up and contributes, so long as he makes that first big play of his Patriots career. This writer is keen on the Alabama product, but so far he hasn’t done much besides nearly muff a punt.

Trey Flowers (98) of the New England Patriots. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

2. Trey Flowers

Trey Flowers makes this list not because he has been playing poorly, but because of the impending return of Rob Ninkovich. We’re looking to Flowers to put forth a big effort against the Bills this week for his own best interest, as his playing time could decrease significantly when Nink rejoins a deep defensive end group currently headed by Jabaal Sheard and Chris Long.

On one of Sheard’s two sacks of Brock Osweiler last week, Flowers came in at the end of helped bring down the quarterback. Against a mobile quarterback such as Tyrod Taylor, it will be part of Flowers’ responsibility to seal the edge and ensure the slippery passer doesn’t get to the outside with ease, so keep an eye on that this Sunday.

For the most part, this writer has been impressed with Flowers so far, but Patriots fans will be wanting a bit more out of the sophomore pro and former Arkansas Razorback.

Barkevious Mingo (51) of the New England Patriots. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

1. Barkevious Mingo

Despite the absence of Dont’a Hightower in the past two weeks, the Patriots have elected not to feature Mingo in the settled defense, instead placing him in a special teams role. Up to this point, Mingo has only seen five snaps on defense.

Of course, Mingo can’t directly help the fact that Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia are holding him out of action so soon in his Patriots career. It takes a while for a new defensive player to get caught up to speed on the complicated playbook, after all.

But that being said, Patriots fans are eager to see a big play out of the former Cleveland Browns linebacker. The No. 6 overall selection in the 2013 NFL Draft holds immense amounts of talent; the trouble the Browns had was funneling those skills into the right areas.

Stay tuned here on Musket Fire all week leading up to the game as we bring your fresh points of analysis and engaging content, from bold predictions to staff roundtables and a question and answer session with BuffaLowDown.