For the first time since January 1, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye met with the media in Foxborough for a wide-ranging press conference on everything that has transpired since the end of last season.
In addition to answering questions about a new culture under head coach Mike Vrabel as well as his thoughts on the trade of third string quarterback Joe Milton III in April, Maye was asked about two different tiers of receivers on the Patriots roster at the moment:
Tier 1 - 31-year-old free agent acquisition Stefon Diggs
Tier 2 - A pair of second-year receivers in Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker
The only similarities between these two tiers of wideouts is that both have legitimate question marks surrounding their potential impact on the 2025 regular season.
With Diggs, the former All-Pro is still recovering from a torn ACL in late October. And while the new Patriots wideout has already posted a bevy of videos on social media with him running drills at full speed, his timeline for a return to full football activities remains unclear at the moment - with executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf telling the media on April 25 that they expect Diggs to be “limited as we move through the spring.”
Wolf’s comments on Diggs came when he was asked about a suddenly crowded receiver room after the team picked Washington State wide receiver Kyle Williams in the third round (No. 69) of this year’s draft.
When asked if the addition of Williams would necessitate “moves,” Wolf pushed back, saying, “We're still going to give those guys as many opportunities as we can.”
Included in the greater “those guys” would be Polk and Baker, who were both far from impressive once the regular season got underway last year after impressive showings during training camp.
There are their combined numbers for the 2024 season:
- 26 games played
- 13 catches on 37 targets
- 99 receiving yards
- 0 touchdowns
Some fans and media would tell you that those numbers combined with the eye test combined with reported issues with maturity off the field would be enough to hand both players their walking papers as Vrabel looks to implement a completely new culture at 1 Patriot Place.
But on Thursday, Maye seemed optimistic about his fellow year-two brethren.
“Yeah, I think those guys came up and came in with me,” said Maye. “They were drafted with me, and we took it upon ourselves as rookies to hopefully kind of set up a good standard. And I think [what] I've seen from them is just kind of learning a new offense.
“I think they're ahead of where they were the first couple weeks last year learning [that] new offense. So I think they kind of tried to say, ‘Hey, I gotta be on my stuff.’ You know, be in the right spot, knowing what to do, and that's just half of it. Making plays is the next part. So I think you definitely see kind of a get-up from them and look forward to getting them in the camp and seeing what they can do.”
Maye’s vote of confidence from Thursday echoes Vrabel’s clean-slate mantra from this offseason, something the head coach has continually preached when asked by the media about the disappointing early returns from New England’s 2024 draft class.
"They had some talent,” Vrabel told SiriusXM this spring. “Didn't have the impact that maybe everybody would have wanted. But that's OK.
“I'm trying to explain it to some of those guys - the whole 'sophomore slump,' maybe we just had the 'freshman 15.' And now we have to lose a little weight in the second year."
Some fans would tell you that an easy way for the Patriots to drop weight would be by trimming the fat with Polk and Baker. But it appears Maye, Vrabel and Wolf are all holding out hope for the Washington and UCF products.
Maye’s answer on Polk and Baker felt like an exercise in a young player attempting to show good leadership at the podium. He wasn’t going to dump on his peers publicly, especially when he knows that the more motivated they are, the better the chances are of them taking a step forward, thus giving him more competent pass-catching options on Sundays in the fall.
But when Maye gave his answer about how he’s feeling about playing with Diggs, you could almost bottle up the genuine excitement radiating from the podium.
“Shoot, you know Stefon - he’s one of those guys growing up, when I was in high school he was young in the league,” said Maye with a grin. “I had him on my fantasy team, and things like that, playing with him in Madden. So it's pretty cool to hopefully now this season [be] throwing to him.
“He’s coming back obviously from injury, and it sounds like he's doing great. He’s been around, and I think it's just gonna be cool to throw it up to a receiver that’s made big plays like he has. Made big plays in playoff games, who's been a lot of different schemes and played with high level quarterbacks to see kind of his point of view, some different stuff. My job is to give him a chance to go get it.”
Maye wasn’t the only Patriot singing the praises of Diggs at the podium this week, as tight end Austin Hooper told the media on Tuesday how impressed he’s been with his new teammate this spring.
“Energy, man. You can see it - like, he’s a freak,” said Hooper. “I know he just came off what he came off of, and you can see him already with the explosion, change of direction, top-end. It’s [like], ‘Dang, dude. Must be nice.’ You know what I mean? So I’m really excited to work with a proven veteran, good player in this league.”
Before Diggs’ injury during Week 8 last season, the veteran was pacing towards over 100 catches in his first year and only year in Houston. That would have made five straight seasons with over 100 catches, and the sixth time eclipsing that number in seven years. But with the torn ACL against the Colts, Diggs would end the year with 47 receptions on 64 targets for 496 receiving yards and 3 receiving touchdowns (he also had 1 rushing touchdown during a Week 4 win over Jacksonville).
So in less than 8 games played, Diggs had 34 more catches, 27 more targets, 397 more receiving yards and 2 more total touchdowns than Baker and Polk combined.
With that said, the powers that be are seemingly willing to give them one more chance to prove themselves.
And if you believe Maye on Thursday, he’s crossing his fingers as well.
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