Sunday 7: Positive early returns on Drake Maye

1 - Though we’re right smack in the throes of summer, and it doesn’t feel like football season yet, gridiron school is back in session. The 2024 version of the New England Patriots kicked off training camp on Wednesday, totaling three practices for the week (Sunday marks their fourth practice open to the public of 13 total this preseason). Fans from all over returned to see their favorite team back in action, chock full of new players, coaches and coordinators galore. There was definitely a different feel to things with the first training camp without Bill Belichick since the movie “American Pie” was released. The pads don’t come on until Monday, so a lighter feel to practice makes sense for now as competition will surely ratchet up soon enough. But there’s no mistaking things feel different, as they should. Whether that’s for better or worse we’re quite a ways off from understanding.

Much of how this new iteration of the Pats fares rest on the broad young shoulders of first-round rookie QB Drake Maye. Maye, not yet 22, saw his first training camp action and did not look overwhelmed. In fact his first day was punctuated by a long completion to veteran receiver Jalen Reagor that drew raves from the crowd.

That’s not to say Maye was perfect. Far from it, in fact, which should be the case. He already got his first camp INT out of the way, a would-be pick-six to Matthew Judon. It would almost be alarming if everything was perfect already for the rookie. Now is the time to learn, get acclimated to professional football, get used to playing under center (something Maye didn’t do too often in college), learn a whole new offense, and prepare for the game he loves to be driven at a different speed. But make no mistake, the physical tools are there and were on display this week. Pats fans needn’t check their eyes or phones when seeing the ball effortlessly thrown with great strength from a quarterback wearing the number 10.

Maye himself seems grounded and in a good place mentally. He said of the pass Judon intercepted, “Can’t be too hard on myself. It’s how you bounce back in this league, and I’m starting to learn that.”

Even after completing another long pass, this one to rookie receiver Ja’Lynn Polk , Maye said “it wasn’t a great throw” but that Polk adjusted to it nicely. That kind of support and humility from a QB who is to be the face of a franchise and a team leader will be looked upon favorably by teammates, fans and media alike.

Long way to go for the rook out of UNC. Lots of practices and pretend football games to come before any football that counts. And don’t forget those pads that come on Monday! While head coach Jerod Mayo continues to say veteran QB Jacoby Brissett is the starter, Maye did work his way up the depth chart already, finishing the first week as the second stringer, ahead of fellow rookie Joe Milton and veteran Bailey Zappe. The Patriots will likely say they’re pleased with his development but that he has a long way to go, which is true. However, if pressed they’d likely admit he’s further ahead of where most thought he’d be, well on his way to making a mark in Foxboro and the NFL.

2 - Speaking of first weeks on the job, this is head coach Jerod Mayo’s first camp as the man in charge as well, with big shoes to fill, or at least one whale of a shadow to emerge from as he looks to carve his own mold in Foxboro. By all accounts things went smoothly, at least for the public eye. Mayo’s energy and bright tone were on display at pressers where he, unlike his predecessor, was comfortable confirming media reports of a contract extension, something that we’d likely never have seen during the last regime (fear not, the winning made it all palpable).

It’s going to take time for the world to look differently upon everything Patriots and not just immediately compare things to how the operation ran during Bill Belichick’s tenure. While Mayo learned so much from the legendary coach he’s clearly establishing that he’ll be his own man, own coach and have a different manner about himself and the team. For those who want to see the team establish its own identity and not just try to be a facsimile of what it was, this is a good thing.

As we saw on a number of teams with a number of former assistants, trying to be Belichick and not yourself was a blueprint ultimately for failure. That Mayo is looking to keep the tentpoles of what made the Patriots great in place while slowly revamping some elements should be seen as a positive that he understands his place but also won’t be afraid to be himself.

He must certainly be feeling comfortable as he already let the team put a microphone on him for a training camp practice this past week.

Mayo’s players appreciate the way in which he’s coaching already. Offensive tackle Calvin Anderson said Mayo’s ability to strike personal relationships with his players has made their buy-in to what he’s asking of them much easier.

Mayo has even said he’s “good with it” in regards to players like Matthew Judon saying they would like a contract extension, elaborating that he has to be good with people’s authentic feelings. Even that he addresses a contract situation for better or worse is a stark contrast from the way business used to get done.

Again, the “it’s early” bell need be rung for Mayo as it was earlier for Maye. How each does will have a massive effect on the other, and subsequently the team. Some have said Mayo says too much and less is more, which may be true, but he’s feeling his way through the first season following a quarter century of the greatest to ever do it on the sidelines. Ultimately it’s the scoreboard that will do the talking for Mayo, but so far he seems to be enjoying himself and most importantly his players seem to want to play for him. All positive strides in the process.

3 - Ask anyone what the weakest positional grouping on the Patriots is, or which room needs the most improvement, and you’d likely hear the offensive line or wide receivers. Neither answer is wrong, in my opinion, however a prominent football analytics voice made it clear earlier this week which room he thinks is the weakest. On the Pats and overall.

Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analytics said the Pats have the 32nd-rated wide receiving corps in the NFL – dead last. Nobody can deny that the Pats haven’t exactly had a receiver, let alone multiple receivers, that have sent fear into the hearts of opposing defenders or keep defensive coordinators up at night the last several years. However, this year, with de facto GM Eliot Wolf revamping the room via the draft and free agency in an effort to “weaponize” the offense (along with rookie QB Drake Maye), things may change. And one receiver is going out of his way to let it be known he’ll attempt to be an agent of change.

Rookie WR Ja’Lynn Polk, who has had a solid start to his first training camp, wants the world to know he and his teammates have not ignored the noise about what people think about the receiving room. In fact, it appears they are tuned in and plan to utilize the doubt of the masses as inspiration. And the 37th overall pick in the 2024 draft isn’t just using social media to make his feelings known.

The Pats have not had a “him” on offense in a while. And that’s not to anoint Polk, the rookie out of Washington, as the next someone on the outside. However, his confidence and belief in himself is mirroring the on-field play thus far, a positive sign for an offense that has lagged behind their division, conference and league recently.

Polk isn’t the only new receiver who has a chance to make a name for himself and change the rhetoric around the team’s offense. Rookie Javon Baker out of Central Florida also turned some heads in the first week of camp with his deep catch prowess.

Baker, who averaged over 21 yards a catch his senior season, doesn’t seem afraid to put himself out there in the press or on the field. A fearlessness to make a play and challenge an opposing defense might be something the team embraces, given their underdog status on the national scene. Again, results will speak louder than post-draft hype and training camp pressers. However, if Polk and Baker can be positive contributors in 2024, adding to the likes of Kendrick Bourne, veteran KJ Osborn, DeMario Douglas and (insert name of sixth receiver here), then maybe, just maybe, somebody besides Pats fans will lose some sleep this season thinking about this unit.

4 - Speaking of losing sleep about a Pats positional grouping…the Pats offensive line might be the grouping that ultimately needs the most work. Granted, the pads are not on yet, so they really can’t do their dirtiest work, but early indications of the group aren’t great. One sign that the team and new O-Line coach Scott Peters aren’t sure exactly what’s up is the shuffling of players along the line over the first couple days of camp.

Perhaps the only position set in stone thus far is center David Andrews. After that, you could argue that left tackle, left guard, right guard and right tackle are all up for grabs. Some players are locks, like Mike Onwenu, who signed a three-year, $57 million extension this offseason. But where he plays is a mystery. Last season the big veteran shifted from right guard to right tackle with some success after many failed attempts by the team to lock down a starter.

The popular thinking was Onwenu would play right tackle again this season, but he’s seen more time at his old spot of right guard to date. Second-year guard Sidy Sow has seen the most time at the left side, but it’s not set in stone yet. Veteran Chukwuma Okorafor and the rookie Caedan Wallace, neither of whom has seen much if any time at left tackle at the pro level, might be considered clubhouse leaders for the tackle jobs, but which side we and the team don’t yet know.

There’s still plenty of camp left to see who’s the best fit where. However, many linemen will tell you continuity is key when preparing for and playing in the NFL trenches. The Pats have had line issues the past couple of seasons, and certainly knew they needed to address depth and talent this offseason. No matter who the new QB is or how much you want to weaponize the offense at large, if nobody can block then it doesn’t matter who’s slinging it, who’s running it or who the intended target is. Perhaps the starting left tackle isn’t even on the team yet, with camp cutdowns and trades likely over the next few weeks. Let’s go ahead and bump this group up to “group of greatest intrigue” slightly ahead of QB and WR.

5 - Supposedly the squeaky wheel gets the grease. However in Foxboro of late it’s been the opposite, with the latest example being safety Jabrill Peppers being rewarded with a three-year deal worth between $24 to $30 million. Peppers had mentioned on his social media that he knew it was a contract year and he planned to make the most of it, but he didn't even have to strap his pads on once to get rewarded for his steady and powerful play in Foxboro.

Peppers' surprise extension was met positively by fans, media and teammates alike, including Matt Judon , who applauded the deal on his social media. It’s no secret that Judon would like a new contract with the Patriots, saying as much at his impromptu media availability following the first day of Pats training camp. Judon has kept a pleasant tone throughout camp despite being displeased with his current deal (at least he’s a man of his word and will play his deal out).

Given the number of veterans who have been extended or rewarded the past few months, it still would make sense were Judon, a team leader and fan favorite who seems to have a lot of football left in him, to strike a deal with the Pats. Word is a contract offer was made but no deal as of yet. At this point a trade of Judon, in the final year of his four-year deal with the Pats, would not yield anything close to his true value. Finding common ground would seem to make sense for the player who wants to be here and the team that will be relying heavily on its defense to keep them in games.

Judon plays a significant role on that defense, as does defensive lineman Davon Godchaux, also in the final year of his deal, also wanting a new contract extension. Godchaux is younger than Judon (29 to 31) and not coming off a season-ending injury last year. He’s a solid but unspectacular player charged with clogging lanes, stuffing the run and holding the line. Bill Belichick was a fan, hence why he signed Godchaux back in March 2021. The veteran out of LSU is due over $7 million this season but would like to get a deal he feels is fair.

“I just want some respect”, the veteran defensive tackle said to the media after day three of Pats Camp on Friday. “I would love to be here, I would love to retire here, my family loves it here. It’s football heaven here, with the greatest of all-time playing here. So I would love to be here but at the end of the day, it’s a business.”

No negatives. No inflammatory comments. But can the Pats re-sign both players? Do they want to? Godchaux seems more replaceable than Judon, though disrupting the continuity and chemistry of a unit that performs at such a high level could be risky. Our bet is the Pats keep Judon on a short-term deal and Godchaux plays the year out and then moves on.

6 - Since we’re on the subject of large contracts and lavish extensions…the QB market in the NFL is off the charts/chains/hook/all of it. Quarterbacks without a single playoff win to their name, let alone a Super Bowl title, are being handed $200+ million deals left and right these days. The two latest recipients being Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa, who received over $212 million from the Dolphins (yes, over Tua-hundred and twelve million…you’re welcome), and Green Bay’s Jordan Love, who also got a new four-year deal, his worth $220 million. Looks like the 2020 QB draft class is dominating the 2021 draft class in terms of long-term deals, and it’s not even close.

Trevor Lawrence is the only 2021 QB to be lucratively extended, he also of a five-year, $275 million deal as well. Whether or not you believe Tagovailoa or Love deserved those extensions (no and yes, respectively, in this author’s opinion), the going rate of a starting QB’s extension is positively outrageous, and is only going to escalate as salary caps increase in the coming years.

How does this affect the Patriots, you ask? Well, we can jest about how much Drake Maye would cost if things work out come three or four years from now…and that would be a terrific problem for the Pats to have. An optimal situation, really. And let’s not wonder or worry about him taking a Tom Brady competitive roster hometown deal. We just want to get there, then it’s “Pay that man his money!” time.

But, it also underscores how important it is to try and win during a rookie QB’s first contract. If Maye is as successful as CJ Stroud his rookie season (and wouldn’t that be fantastic), then the Pats would be nothing short of crazy to do everything in their financial and organizational power to surround him with as much talent as possible during that window, much like how the Houston Texans are doing with Stroud right now. Houston is proverbially going for it, as they should, while they have Stroud at a bargain price. Eventually he’ll command Jared Goff or Daniel Jones (LOL) money, and suddenly it’s a lot more difficult to trade for Stef Diggs or sign Danielle Hunter and contend with the Ravens and Chiefs and Bills in conference and try to win a Super Bowl.

The Pats are a ways off with this. Let’s just see Maye get his first start and win for now, eh? BUT…It will be interesting to watch the salaries escalate over the next few years, and let us hope this is a decision the Patriots have to make come summer 2027 or 2028 whether or not to make Drake Maye the highest-paid QB ever, whether he deserves it or not. That means the pick worked out, so we’ll take it.

7- WEEI and WEEI.com’s coverage of the Patriots cranked up this week, with regular columns, blogs, podcasts, videos and radio shows on-site from Gillette Stadium to keep you, the good fans of Pats Nation, informed and engaged up to the minute. As we prepare for one of the more interesting seasons in ages, we welcome Tom Carroll to the team. Tom will be assisting on all Foxboro fronts, not to mention content and analysis on the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins and more. Be sure to give him a follow - @yaboiTCfresh - and buckle up for a great second half of what’s been an awesome Boston sports year thus far.