Patriots Mailbag: Looking ahead to Week 1
There’s still three training camp practices and one preseason game left, but Patriots fans are already looking ahead to Week 1 when it comes to the lineup.
Welcome into the latest edition of the 98.5 The Sports Hub Patriots Mailbag! Tuesday is the Patriots’ final true off day of training camp (they’ll have another one on Saturday before the preseason finale on Sunday), so we’ll take this chance to check in with the fans, and see what you all are wondering about the team 17 practices and two games in. Let’s get to it…
Let’s kick it off with the big question – does Drake Maye have a shot to be the Patriots’ Week 1 starter? Yes, but it’s a long shot.
Prior to Monday’s practice, Jerod Mayo mentioned it will be key for Maye to play with the projected top offense before he’s ready to start a game. “It’s very important for him to continue to build that confidence with that group, not only the offensive line, but also the receivers.” Mayo explained.
Yet with just half a week to go in camp, Maye still hasn’t taken any live reps with that unit. That doesn’t mean he won’t – there are still three practices and a game – but how much can he really build with that group in such limited opportunities. Maybe if he has a truly spectacular end of camp, and a great performance in the preseason finale, the coaches might be convinced. Anything short of that though feels too little, too late.
Good question Connor, and I think we did start to see some of that in Monday’s practice. While they weren’t with the top unit full-time Caedan Wallace and Layden Robinson did rotate in with the starters at right tackle and left guard, respectively. That included a full live one-minute drill.
They’re increased involvement over the last few days suggests the Patriots may be looking at them for starting roles. Those may not come Week 1, but the team could still rotate them in for a few games until they’re ready to play full-time. Bill Belichick used to do this – he would rotate one or two offensive line spots over the first few weeks until the team identified its ‘best five.’ I wouldn’t be surprised to see Wallace and/or Robinson log their first start(s) before Maye does this year.
So far, there haven’t been any indications that the pre-snap reads have been an issue for the top offense. Meanwhile, the bigger struggle for the backup centers lately has been just snapping the ball.
This will be something to watch once the season starts and both the Patriots and opposing defenses are using their full playbooks rather than stripped-down versions for the preseason and training camp. Not an issue yet, but certainly something to watch for come September.
I was impressed with the way Ja’Lynn Polk pulled away from Eagles cornerback Kelee Ringo in the preseason game when Jacoby Brissett overthrew him. So far through camp he’s been more of a contested catch receiver in those situations.
That being said, he can separate by reading the field and finding holes in coverage at the second level. His route running is still developing – the key for him will be continuing to find other ways to get into space and be competitive at the catch-point as that part of his game progresses.
Whether or not that makes him a No. 2 receiver is up for interpretation. The reality is in this offense anybody can be the top receiver with how balanced the room projects to be, it’s more about playing a role. Again, ideally he’s the chain mover with guys like Kendrick Bourne (once he’s healthy) and Pop Douglas being the big-play threats.
Marcus Jones should absolutely be the Patriots’ primary punt returner this season as long as he’s healthy. I could see the team using a rotation to try and help keep him healthy, but he should be getting majority of and the most impactful looks.
As for kick returns, he could factor in but Jalen Reagor is a better fit given his size and experience. Reagor has also looked really good as a kick returner this summer, so it makes sense for him to start as the primary kickoff returner to start the season.
Harrison Bryant makes sense in theory, but I don’t think the Patriots are going to trade for a tight end right now. Given their focus on the future they’d probably rather hold on to the kind of pick it would take to land Bryant, who is a pending free agent and expected to make the team in Vegas.
Realistically, the Patriots will probably look more towards the waiver wire and outright free agency. One player who fits schematically in Alex Van Pelt’s offense who is projected to be on the outside looking in right now is Cowboys tight end Peyton Hendershot (although he’s currently dealing with a shoulder injury).
Jabrill Peppers isn’t a bad guess here. It’s tough because most of the Patriots’ veterans from the Super Bowl era are more quiet ‘lead by example’ guys like Jonathan Jones, Deatrich Wise, and David Andrews, but they’d make sense in that role. Jacoby Brissett could make sense as the quarterback, but what happens when Drake Maye takes over as the starter? I’ll throw Davon Godchaux in too as a sleeper pick. Then again, it’s possible Matthew Slater still does it himself in his new coaching role. That is, of course, assuming the Patriots continue that tradition with the new coaching staff.
Does Armon Watts count as a surprise? He was one of the Patriots’ first free agency signings, but hasn’t done much in camp while other defensive linemen like Trysten Hill and Jeremiah Pharms have exceeded expectations. Watts played late into Thursday’s game against the Eagles.
There’s an argument to be made there, but they’d been pretty short at cornerback had they not made that pick. Hindsight is 20/20, but they took a tremendous prospect at a then-position of need, so at the time it made sense.
The real second guess for me is their approach on Day 2. They took three interior offensive linemen (Jake Andrews, Sidy Sow, and Atonio Mafi) between picks 107 and 144. While they may have intended for Sow to play tackle, why not just draft a player who already has experience at that position. Tackles who went in that range include Blake Freeland, Dawand Jones, and Carter Warren. I’d rather have Gonzalez and one of those three (say in place of Andrews or Sow, they all went before Mafi), instead of Jones and one of the boundary cornerbacks from that range.
The intensity of the practices has been the big thing so far. This camp has had consistently long practices, mostly consisting of competitive 11-on-11 drills. From start to finish they’re trying to emulate real football as much as possible. For all the talk of Jerod Mayo being a “player’s coach” – he may be one off the field but on the field his schedule for the Patriots has been incredibly demanding.
I’m sure there will be other changes in terms of things like game management, but we won’t see that for a few more weeks.
