Patriots Mailbag: Doing more to support Drake Maye

• Ed Helinski 🇺🇸🇵🇱 on X (formerly Twitter): "What's your Drake Maye grade for his first NFL start? / X"

  What's your Drake Maye grade for his first NFL start?

  I’d give Drake Maye a B for his performance on Sunday, all things considered – first NFL start, with a center he just met a few days prior, against a very good defense. The biggest thing for me was Maye not looking overwhelmed, which was the case for most of the game after some apparent jitters in the first quarter (Maye himself talked about needing to settle down, which Jacoby Brissett helped him do).

  Overall, Maye showed plenty for the team to build around based on his arm talent, pocket presence, and running ability. There are things he’ll need to fix, and as he gets more experience he’ll need to prove he’s not an error-repeater. Specifically, his accuracy to the intermediate part of the field and of course limiting turnovers stand out. He’s didn’t go above and beyond, but as far as first NFL starts go it would have been unfair to realistically expect more from him.

• Will Malone on X (formerly Twitter): "Don't want to exaggerate, but looks like Drake Maye is our QB for the next 30 years. Now what? For the rest of the season, are you more interested in how the chemistey develops between Maye and our 'weapons' or how AVP adapts the offensive scheme to fit the future MVP? / X"

  Don't want to exaggerate, but looks like Drake Maye is our QB for the next 30 years. Now what? For the rest of the season, are you more interested in how the chemistey develops between Maye and our 'weapons' or how AVP adapts the offensive scheme to fit the future MVP?

  Yeah, let’s not fit the kid for a red and/or gold jacket just yet. But, he should be the starter for the rest of this season – when his development will be crucial. Both points here are key – Maye’s chemistry with his receivers and how well he works with Alex Van Pelt. I’d say the second one probably holds a little more weight for me, just because the Patriots’ wide receiver group will likely see upgrades this offseason one way or the other. The future of Van Pelt and the Patriots’ offensive coordinator job isn’t as clear.

• David Jacobs on X (formerly Twitter): "2 straight weeks of Onwenu not looking like the 19M dollar guard. When do we start to worry its not a coincidence but a pattern? / X"

  2 straight weeks of Onwenu not looking like the 19M dollar guard. When do we start to worry its not a coincidence but a pattern?

  To me, some of Mike Onwenu‘s struggles can be chalked up to him not having a settled position. After planning in the offseason to play tackle he was moved back to guard in camp, then back out to tackle for the start of the regular season, then back to guard. He hasn’t had a chance to really get comfortable at either spot. I’d give it a few more weeks before I really hit the panic button, but still think that if worst comes to worst and he can’t figure it out this year, giving him a full offseason and training camp at one position next year could get him on the right track.

• Matt Ryan on X (formerly Twitter): "Gotta think veteran linemen who are free agents though they are still free agents for a reason are better than what we currently have. Leno, Bahktiari and Donovan Smith have to offer more then what we have Why does Wolf insist on perusing PS players from other teams / X"

  Gotta think veteran linemen who are free agents though they are still free agents for a reason are better than what we currently have. Leno, Bahktiari and Donovan Smith have to offer more then what we have Why does Wolf insist on perusing PS players from other teams

  They are free agents for a reason. Mike Giardi reported earlier this month that Donovan Smith and Charles Leno “aren’t interested” in signing. Meanwhile, with David Bakhtiari’s age (33) and recent history of knee injuries he may be unable to play physically. The fourth player who has been talked about is D.J. Humphries, who is nine months removed from ACL surgery and may not be ready to get on a field yet (for reference, Kendrick Bourne just returned after an 11-month rehab).

  The Patriots will probably need to sign another tackle this week after Vederian Lowe hurt his ankle on Sunday. Given what’s mentioned above though, don’t be surprised if it’s another practice squad signing.

• Geoffrey_Locket on X (formerly Twitter): "Is there even a trade opportunity in the league right now to obtain a high level offensive lineman? I thought about the browns given their record but it doesn't seem like it would make sense for them to part ways with their good OTs. / X"

  Is there even a trade opportunity in the league right now to obtain a high level offensive lineman? I thought about the browns given their record but it doesn't seem like it would make sense for them to part ways with their good OTs.

  It’d be surprising to see any team – even struggling teams – move on from quality offensive linemen – especially tackles – right now. There’s just such a shortage in the league that even if a team isn’t contending, having that player moving forwards still has value.

  Even if a lineman does get moved, the asking price is going to be significant. For a Patriots team that is early on in a rebuild, it’s probably not going to be worth parting ways with the draft capital it would take to get a deal done with a player who will most likely be on the older side and/or on an expiring contract.

• Dan on X (formerly Twitter): "Multiple mock drafts I've read in the last 24 hours have the Pats taking Travis Hunter. Please dispel my fears and tell me they have no choice but to take a Tackle. / X"

  Multiple mock drafts I've read in the last 24 hours have the Pats taking Travis Hunter. Please dispel my fears and tell me they have no choice but to take a Tackle.

  First off, you can ignore the majority of mock drafts this time of year. Take this from the guy who loves doing mock drafts – I don’t seriously consider them until the end of the regular season at the earliest.

  As for the Patriots, yes they should take a tackle but that’s not a guarantee they will. If they go elsewhere though I feel like it would probably be a wide receiver rather than a cornerback (Travis Hunter projects primarily as a cornerback in the NFL), given how aggressively they’ve gone after available veteran wide receivers in the last year, and what Christian Gonzalez has shown them at corner.

• Adam Diez on X (formerly Twitter): "Do you put any stock into the report that the top tackles in the draft aren't top 10 worthy? If so would you rather a trade down to take one at the bottom of the top 10 or stick and take a WR like Tet or Hunter? / X"

  Do you put any stock into the report that the top tackles in the draft aren't top 10 worthy? If so would you rather a trade down to take one at the bottom of the top 10 or stick and take a WR like Tet or Hunter?

  For the most part, no to the first question. I get some hesitance when it comes to Will Campbell because of his arm length, but the reality is that measurement is what it is and it makes more sense to assume he can play tackle until proven otherwise (he’ll get measured at the NFL Combine). For now, evaluating the play on the field is as much as can realistically be done. Beyond that I think some of the uncertainty comes from both prospects being on the younger side – which is the case for most of the top players in this year’s draft.

  Either way, the Patriots need to end up with a potential franchise left tackle. Whether that’s Campbell, Texas’ Kelvin Banks (whose size concerns seem wildly overblown – just look at him), or even potentially Minnesota’s Aireontae Ersery, it makes more sense to maneuver around the board and land that player given how difficult it is to find and acquire talented tackle compared to positions like wide receiver or cornerback.

• Bill on X (formerly Twitter): "Which LT are we drafting - Banks or Campbell? / X"

  Which LT are we drafting - Banks or Campbell?

  Keep in mind it’s still early, with plenty of football left to be played – but right now I’m leaning Kelvin Banks. For one, his mobility and fluidity at the position stand out. He also has two big advantages on Campbell right now – better play against high-level opponents, and a lack of penalties (Campbell has already matched his season total from last year with five, including multiple false starts.

  That being said, Banks faces a big test – maybe his biggest test of the regular season – this Saturday. His Longhorns are facing Georgia, which once again has an outstanding defensive front. That group is led by edge rusher Mykel Williams, who is a projected first-round pick. This game will be a big factor in both players’ draft evaluations.

• X on X (formerly Twitter): "Many pats fans talked about man coverage being a potential solution to some of the defensive struggles but we got torched by the Texans. Chalk it up to a bad game, Texans are just talented and it's to be expected? Or do we have serious questions about the secondary to address? / X"

  Many pats fans talked about man coverage being a potential solution to some of the defensive struggles but we got torched by the Texans. Chalk it up to a bad game, Texans are just talented and it's to be expected? Or do we have serious questions about the secondary to address?

  Credit is definitely do to the Texans’ receivers – especially Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell – for their ability to get open on Sunday. No doubt about that. At the same time, the Patriots now have examples on tape of how teams can attack them in man. Expect the Jaguars to hit them with similar looks this week, and how they respond will basically give us the answer to this question.

• David Netz on X (formerly Twitter): "If you were running practice, what is the very first thing you would focus on? / X"

  If you were running practice, what is the very first thing you would focus on?

  Tackling. Right now the Patriots are missing too many tackles, many of which seem due to poor technique or fundamentals. Since Week 2 the Patriots are averaging 8.8 missed tackles per game, up almost two full tackles from their pace last year.

  That’s what I would focus on, and based on Jerod Mayo’s postgame press conference on Sunday he may be thinking the same thing. “Defensively I would say just the fundamentals of just tackling, our run fits have to improve,” he said after his team missed seven more tackles against Houston. “They have to improve. I told all those guys, I said, ‘you should feel like crap today. You should feel like crap.’ You take away those two long runs, we had two runs over 50 yards. That’s just not winning football.”