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          New England Patriots

          Ranking most likely Patriots to fill 53rd spot

          • Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterDec 5, 2014, 05:00 AM ET
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              Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. You can follow Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
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          SAN DIEGO -- In placing wide receiver Aaron Dobson on season-ending injured reserve Thursday, the New England Patriots created an opening on their 53-man roster. It almost certainly will be filled by a member of the practice squad on Saturday, so let's lead off the day handicapping the most likely candidates:

          1. WR Josh Boyce (5-foot-11, 205 pounds) -- The 2013 fourth-round draft choice played in nine games last season (3 starts) and with Brandon LaFell (shoulder) and Julian Edelman (thigh) managing injuries, the smartest move might be to add a fifth layer to the depth chart who has some flexibility to align inside and outside.

          2. LB Deontae Skinner (6-2, 250) -- With linebacker Dont'a Hightower's shoulder injury potentially affecting his status/availability, bolstering the linebacker depth chart has merit, especially when factoring in special teams. The Patriots are also going to be without linebacker/core special teamer Chris White on Sunday.

          3. WR Jonathan Krause (5-11, 190) -- An undrafted rookie out of Vanderbilt, he spent the offseason/preseason with the Browns before joining the practice squad Oct. 24. He's a bit of an unknown at this point but falls into the "sleeper" category if receiver is the position the Patriots target.

          4. DE Jake Bequette (6-5, 265) -- Rob Ninkovich is playing a lot of snaps and Bequette could also factor into special teams considerations.

          5-6. OLs Chris Barker (6-2, 310)/ Caylin Hauptmann (6-3, 300) -- With starting left guard Dan Connolly (ankle) and rookie offensive tackle Cameron Fleming (ankle) not 100 percent, the Patriots still have seven blockers and wouldn't seem to need to make a move here unless they were protecting an asset from being poached by another team.

          7-8. DTs Joe Vellano (6-2, 300)/Casey Walker (6-1, 325) -- The Patriots have good depth with their big men in the middle with Vince Wilfork, Chris Jones, Alan Branch and Dominique Easley, so a move at this position seems unlikely right now.

          9-10. CBs Justin Green (5-11, 195)/CB Daxton Swanson (5-11, 191) -- Having just signed on Wednesday, it's hard to imagine either would be the pick for a promotion at this point, especially with rookie Malcolm Butler having been inactive the last two games.

          EXTRA POINT: Another possibility would be to simply add defensive tackle Sealver Siliga, who still has time as part of his 21-day window to come off the short-term IR list. But with depth at defensive tackle currently looking solid, that possibility wouldn't rank as highly.