Paul Perillo: Drake Maye is Josh Allen, Jayden Daniels is Lamar Jackson
On Friday’s edition of Zolak & Bertrand, Paul Perillo of Patriots.com decided to make some comparisons for Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels.
Maye is a talented project…
Marc Bertrand: I would not blame them for wanting to pass on him (Michael Penix Jr.) due to the injury history, because this is too important of a time for them.
Paul Perillo: You can’t take him at three.
Marc Bertrand: Well no, not even at three, but just to make him the quarterback they come out of this draft with. Where if they say to themselves, we’re coming out of this draft with a quarterback, we don’t want to take the risk with Penix because of the injury history because we can’t afford to have it blow up in our face if the guy has another ACL tear or another shoulder injury, or can’t just stay healthy and stay on the field. He has a long injury history as we know.
Ryan Johnston: And you’ve also got offensive line issues. So if you’re going to get a guy who’s a sitting duck back there, as a rookie, and he’s going to get teed off on you’re definitely worried about injuries in that scenario.
Paul Perillo: And he’s a little older. He played three years at Indiana and a couple at Washington. He’s been around for a while.
Marc Bertrand: That was Nate Tice, by the way, at the start of the segment. He loves Drake Maye and we’ve had other people, as I mentioned, not love Drake Maye. Chris Sims has him as the sixth best quarterback in the draft. Sixth.
Paul Perillo: Yeah, he’s a project. Talented project.
Marc Bertrand: Talent is the key.
Paul Perillo: I this is unfair to put on these kids and I know everybody’s doing it. It’s Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels and what they have. You know to me, Caleb Williams is Patrick Mahomes like. He’s going to run around. He’s going to make throws from odd angles and and try to make big plays. Daniels is like Lamar Jackson. He comes into the league really as a run first kind of a guy who can throw. And I think Drake Maye is Josh Allen. I think he’s wild with his mechanics. I think his his accuracy leaves him at times, but he’s got great size, great strength and great running ability. And I think if you can sort of hone the mechanics, you can have something like the Bills have with Josh Allen.
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – OCTOBER 07: Drake Maye #10 of the North Carolina Tar Heels looks to pass against the Syracuse Orange during the first half of their game at Kenan Memorial Stadium on October 07, 2023 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Listen to the full segment!
Blockbuster wide receiver trade could impact the Patriots in multiple ways
Impacts on the wide receiver trade market
CINCINNATI, OHIO – DECEMBER 16: Tee Higgins #5 of the Cincinnati Bengals warms up before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Paycor Stadium on December 16, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images)
Assuming the Patriots end up with a young quarterback this offseason, at some point soon they should be looking into pairing him with a star wide receiver to aid in his development – just as the Bills did in 2020 when they acquired Stefon Diggs to play with a young Josh Allen. Generally, these kinds of moves happen through trades.
Whether it’s this offseason or next offseason, this Diggs’ deal should serve as framework for something similar for the Patriots. The name that has been talked about a lot this offseason is Tee Higgins. Higgins is younger than Diggs and needs a new contract, but also isn’t the proven commodity Diggs is. All in all, the cost for Higgins should be relatively similar to the cost for Diggs (maybe the team adding Higgins wouldn’t get back one or both of those late Day 3 picks like the Texans did).
Looking ahead to the 2025 offseason, more often than not these big-name wide receivers who get traded are moved because they need new contracts. Notable receivers entering contract years next spring (pending extensions) include Higgins (assuming he plays on the franchise tag this year), D.K. Metcalf, Terry McLaurin, D.J. Moore, Jaylen Waddle, Garrett Wilson, and DeVonta Smith.
Power balance of the AFC East
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 31: DeMario Douglas #81 of the New England Patriots runs with the ball during the second half of a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on December 31, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)
Even after the trade, DraftKings still has the Patriots as +2500 to win the AFC East. This trade doesn’t exactly open a door for them in 2024.
At the same time, the growth of the Texans shows how quickly things can change in just a few years, and this trade continues a shift in the power balance of the division. As this offseason continues, it’s become more and more clear all four AFC East teams have real questions about their futures.
The Bills are entering at least a re-tooling, if not a full-on rebuild around Josh Allen. The Jets are going all in on their current roster, which is reliant on a quarterback entering his age-40 season and coming off a torn Achilles, while there are questions about how much his head is truly focused on the game of football. The Dolphins are 5-10 against teams .500 or better in the Mike McDaniel era, and have some pressing decisions looming regarding the contract situations of key players including quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
Then there are the Patriots, who are in as much of a reset as anybody in the first year post-Bill Belichick. They’ll have a new coach in Jerod Mayo and most likely a rookie quarterback as well.
That’s not to say the Patriots are suddenly in great position in the division. They have their own development to worry about. They won’t be contenders this year, but right now it’s shaping up to be a wide open division in the coming years.
