Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is seeing growth in a pair of young wide receivers.
With the exception of quarterback Drake Maye, the New England Patriots’ 2024 draft class was mostly quiet during its rookie season. There were some promising moments from its other seven members, but all in all there is plenty of room for improvement.
That is particularly true at wide receiver, where neither second-rounder Ja’Lynn Polk nor fourth-rounder Javon Baker contributed in any meaningful way. As a result, both are under quite a bit of pressure heading into 2025. Not only did they disappoint last year, they also need to prove to a new coaching staff that they are worthy of being kept around.
At least according to Drake Maye, it appears they are doing so.
“I think they’re ahead of where they were when we were in the first couple weeks last year, learning the new offense,” the sophomore quarterback said. “They kind of have caught the stride of, ‘Hey, I got to be on my stuff, be in the right spot, know what to do.’”
Polk joined the Patriots as the 37th overall selection in last year’s draft, and was given a big role on offense right out of the gate. He did have some promising moments in training camp but failed to keep his momentum alive during the regular season. When all was said and done, he had caught just 12 passes for 87 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Baker, meanwhile, was drafted 110th overall and was unable to meet the lofty standards he expressed during his introductory conference call (i.e. making “people in wheelchairs stand up”). He finished the year with one catch for 12 yards, and even more so than Polk was an afterthought on the offensive side of the ball throughout 2024.
The Patriots under new head coach Mike Vrabel showed only moderate confidence in their ability to bounce back during this offseason. They signed veterans at both of their respective positions — Z-receiver Stefon Diggs and X-receiver Mack Hollins — and later also invested a third-round draft choice in Washington State’s do-it-all wideout Kyle Williams.
The growth Maye has witnessed in both Polk and Baker so far is promising, but he himself knows that the ultimate answers will have to come on the field.
“That’s just half of it. Making plays is the next part,” he said. “I think you’ve definitely seen kind of a get up from them. Looking forward to getting them into camp and seeing what they can do.”