How New England’s rookie players fared in Week 8.
The hits keep coming for the New England Patriots’ rookie class. Already down three of their top four selections in this year’s draft entering the Week 8 contest against the New York Jets, the team also saw No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye depart with a concussion in the second quarter.
Maye’s injury status is the biggest story of the week for New England, and something we will continue monitoring. However, he was not the only first-year player to participate on Sunday, so let’s assess how New England’s drafted and undrafted rookies alike fared in the 25-22 win.
Game day roster
QB Drake Maye: As noted above, Maye was not able to finish his third career start. The first-rounder absorbed a helmet-to-helmet hit late in the first quarter and as a consequence was pulled from the game shortly thereafter. Before entering concussion protocol, he had another impressive day. While he went a relatively unspectacular 3-of-6 for 23 yards as a passer, he wasn’t helped out by his receiving corps dropping two of his pass attempts. Furthermore, he showcased his mobility: he had 46 yards on three scrambles, including a 17-yard touchdown in the first quarter. For more on Maye’s game and injury status, please click here, here and here.
WR/KR Javon Baker: After sitting out the last four games as a healthy scratch, Baker was back on the field on Sunday. However, the fourth-round draft pick did not see any action at his listed position of wide receiver: all five of his snaps came as a kickoff returner. He finished the day with one runback for 17 yards that set the Patriots up at their own 20-yard line.
CB/ST Marcellas Dial Jr.: Marcellas Dial Jr. continues to be a core special teamer for the Patriots. Playing on five units yet again — kickoff return and coverage, punt return and coverage, field goal/extra point block — he tied the team lead with 23 snaps in the game’s third phase (88%). He did register a tackle and had a key block on Marcus Jones’ 62-yard punt return in the third quarter, setting him up to turn the corner early in the play. However, he also gave up his position on a punt coverage play, allowing the Jets to gain 40 yards on a first-quarter return.
TE Jaheim Bell: The arrow keeps pointing up for the seventh-round tight end. Playing a career-high eight offensive snaps (12%) — plus 12 more on special teams (46%) — he continues to be involved: Bell played both inline and in the slot, and also saw his first two career snaps as a fullback; he also was part of a newly-introduced three-tight end package at one point. He also was again part of the two return and the kickoff coverage squad.
S Dell Pettus: Undrafted free agent Dell Pettus also continues to trend in the right direction. Against the Jets, he actually might have had his best game to date — especially as a safety. Playing 37 defensive snaps (60%) in light of Kyle Dugger’s absence, he made four tackles in his role as a versatile free safety/box safety hybrid; he later was awarded a game ball by head coach Jerod Mayo for his work. In addition, Pettus played 13 special teams snaps (50%) between his work on punt return, kickoff return and as personal protector on punt coverage. In the latter role he registered a tackle when he put an end to the aforementioned 40-yard runback.
LB/ST Curtis Jacobs: Like Marcellas Dial, Jacobs continues to be a non-factor on defense but a valuable special teams presence. Again playing on the four return and coverage units, he was on the field for 18 snaps (69%) without registering any statistics. He was on the field for both Jones’ 62-yard return and the Jets’ 40-yarder, but did not have a noticeable impact on either play.
Inactive
The rest of the Patriots’ rookie class was not active for game day against the Jaguars. This included second-round WR Ja’Lynn Polk and fourth-round G Layden Robinson, who were ruled out due to a concussion and ankle injury, respectively. Sixth-round emergency QB Joe Milton III was once again a healthy scratch.
In addition to those three players, nine other rookies were on the practice squad for Sunday’s game. None of CB Miles Battle, DT Marcus Harris, C Bryan Hudson, CB D.J. James, RB Terrell Jennings, WR John Jiles, S Mark Perry and TE Jack Westover were elevated to the game day roster. International player ED Jotham Russell, meanwhile, carries a practice squad exception and is not expected to appear in any games this season.
Two more rookies, third-round OT Caedan Wallace and UDFA WR JaQuae Jackson, are on injured reserve. Wallace is eligible to be reactivated, Jackson is not.