Patriots Mailbag: The near and not-so-near future

• Ed Helinski 🇺🇸🇵🇱 on Twitter: "Gaze into your crystal ball. Please tell us how bad this Patriots season can get and what will it take for a turnaround? / Twitter"

  Gaze into your crystal ball. Please tell us how bad this Patriots season can get and what will it take for a turnaround?

  How bad can it get? The Patriots just lost back-to-back games by 30-plus points for the first time since 1970. They’re just the fifth team since 2000 to lose consecutive games by 34-plus points. Hard to see things getting worse than this two-week stretch.

  As for a turnaround, it depends what kind of turnaround your looking for. More competitive games? It sounds simple but it starts with better execution. A lot of the recent issues are self-inflicted, from turnovers to penalties, to just poor effort. Fixing those issues will certainly make things easier, but if a ‘turnaround’ means a playoff push, the current roster talent just may not be enough to dig out of this hole.

• Don't F**K With UConn on Twitter: "Haven't seen Mapu make any impactful plays yet. What may be holding him back so far? / Twitter"

  Haven't seen Mapu make any impactful plays yet. What may be holding him back so far?

  Simply put, Marte Mapu hasn’t been on the field all that much. He’s played 33 percent of the Patriots’ total defensive snaps, which amounds to 110 plays overall. Mainly a passing-down player at this point, the Patriots’ early deficits have prevented the kind of situations where he’d be in the game regularly.

• Jason Brassard on Twitter: "Do you think getting Mack out of the building asap would be a good move? My suggestion is Mack for Davis Mills to get through the season. / Twitter"

  Do you think getting Mack out of the building asap would be a good move? My suggestion is Mack for Davis Mills to get through the season.

  As a general teambuilding belief across all sports, I think it’s never a good idea to trade a player just for the sake of trading them. Outside of very rare situations, this usually ends up being a panic move and nothing more.

  While things may not be great with Mac Jones right now, they don’t seem to be at the point where the team simply can’t afford to have him in the building. His value is at an all-time low, and the would be lucky to get a late Day 3 pick for him. At this point, even if they know he’s not the long-term plan, they might as well hold onto him and see if any team gets desperate for a bridge quarterback either this offseason, or next year in training camp due to an injury.

  As for Davis Mills, I’m not sure what adding him would accomplish. He struggled significantly in the preseason, and doesn’t have the skill set that would elevate this offense. If the Patriots are going to ‘get through the season’ without Jones as the starting quarterback, Bailey Zappe, Will Grier, and Malik Cunningham should be enough.

• Andrew Caraway on Twitter: "We know the Patriots won't tank. That means I'm sure they're not in the Williams or Maye sweepstakes. Does a guy like Carson Beck make sense in the 2nd or 3rd? Tall strong arm, pro style offense. Also would the Pats have a real chance to get a guy like Bowers at let's say picks... / Twitter"

  We know the Patriots won't tank. That means I'm sure they're not in the Williams or Maye sweepstakes. Does a guy like Carson Beck make sense in the 2nd or 3rd? Tall strong arm, pro style offense. Also would the Pats have a real chance to get a guy like Bowers at let's say picks...

  Caleb Williams is out of the question for the Patriots in the draft. Beyond him, I’m not sure any other quarterback can be ruled out. While the Patriots may not end up with a top-5 pick, they should be able to position themselves to move up into that range, given they haven’t given away any significant draft capital in the past.

  Whether they miss on the top group or decide to wait, I would be very surprised if Carson Beck ends up declaring for the draft after this season. He’s a redshirt sophomore in his first year as a starter, and while he hasn’t been bad he hasn’t exactly done anything to blow evaluators away either. In such a loaded class, there’s a good chance he’d end up getting pushed into Day 3, when he could be a Day 2 pick if he waits another year or two.

  As for tight end Brock Bowers, he’s an outstanding prospect. But the reality is, if the Patriots are picking high enough to take him, it means they need a quarterback above all else.

• I love Malachi corley as a prospect, how do you feel?

  — Matt DiGangi (@datt_migangi) October 10, 2023

  Malachi Corley certainly has an interesting prospect makeup. He’s in a Western Kentucky offense that just prints offensive production. That was the case with Jerreth Sterns two years ago, and despite monster numbers in college he wasn’t able to initially stick in the NFL (he’s curently in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, as one of the top targets of former Patriots quarterback Jake Dolegala).

  Is Corley a product of that offense, or more? That’s what we’ll have to figure out over the next few months. His eight-catch. 88-yard performance against Ohio State was encouraging, we’ll see how he can build on it.

  Like Carson Beck though, it wouldn’t be unrealistic for Corley, a redshirt junior, to stay another year at Western Kentucky. That’s back half of his season will likely decide that.

• Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.