The week leading up to the Super Bowl is typically filled with bad celebrity/athlete interviews, with famous people pumping products while giving little-to-no insight on the upcoming game, let alone their respective teams who aren’t participating in the game.
So when I saw former Patriots defensive end Chris Long had an interview from Super Bowl week released on Thursday with quarterback Drake Maye, I went in with low expectations.
To my surprise, the 22-year-old was about as open as he’s been since being drafted by New England last spring, opening up about the challenges of becoming a team leader in the middle of his rookie season as well as his excitement level for an upcoming season of being coached hard by Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels.
He even dropped some bread crumbs about the 1990s royal blue jerseys possibly making a return to the Patriots’ wardrobe in the near future.
If you’re a Pats fan, I highly recommend taking the 28 minutes and giving this a listen.
But the most newsworthy nugget coming out of this interview with Maye were his comments about fellow rising sophomores Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker.
“Who do you think is that next guy for the Patriots next year to step up?” asked Long.
“Oh, that’s a good question,” said Maye. “We bought into two rookie receivers. I think Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, that [they were] kind of feeling out this year, and they both battled some injuries. But I think, hopefully, expecting one of them, if not both, to kind of make a splash this year.
“I think I’m kind of really taking it upon myself. You know, the guys came up with me. They’re receivers, and quarterbacks-receivers - it’s my job to get them the football. But also, I think it’s their job - they know to kind of get their stuff together. You know, get to lifting hard and running hard and practicing hard. It’s a different way to practice in the NFL. You know, it kind of takes something off your body, but you’re still expected to be full-speed, expected to be in the right spot, expected to line up right. So they kind of [need to] get in the groove of that, and get in the groove of the ‘NFL life.’
“Well, it’s different for all these rookies, you know, especially with the new NIL space. We all think, you know, we’re rich coming into the league. And really, that money goes by fast, you know? So I think, kind of, this new kind of space is good for us to kind of get a feel of, ‘Hey, this is - you know, you make this lifestyle, and we still got, you know, a ways to go and goals we need to meet.’”
Coming out of training camp, expectations for both Polk and Baker were sky-high, as both players flashed brilliance at times both on the practice field and during preseason action.
But once real game-action arrived, both players fell off a cliff.
As Maye mentioned, both players dealt with injuries throughout the 2024 season. But even when healthy, neither player was able to work their way into the lineup in a meaningful way - especially noteworthy given how bad the wide receiver group was last season.
After being selected 37th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Washington, Polk only managed 12 catches on 33 targets for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns during 15 games of action.
And if you think that’s bad, just wait.
After falling to the fourth round in last spring’s draft, Baker finished the 2024 season with 1 catch on 4 targets for 12 yards and 0 touchdowns during 11 games of action. For a player who made headlines during his post-draft media call for saying, “I make people in wheelchairs stand up,” he did just the opposite during his first crack at being a pro.
Both Polk and Baker will be 23 years old by the time training camp opens this summer, with Maye entering his “Jordan year” in late August. And after combining for just 13 catches during their rookie campaign together, Maye appears to be bearing some of the responsibility for that measly total for the duo.
But it’s clear from Maye’s comments that both Polk and Baker realize that something needs to change in their preparation for them to take a meaningful leap in year two. Maye’s connection with these two will be a massive storyline throughout the 2025 season.
Whether either player is around New England for the entirety of the season remains to be seen.