How New England’s rookie players fared in Week 7.
The New England Patriots’ trip to London ended in disappointment, and with plenty of bad football being played by the team. Its rookie players were not immune to it either, as the group as a whole had a rather rough go versus the Jacksonville Jaguars — with one notable exception in the form of quarterback Drake Maye.
With that said, let’s assess how New England’s drafted and undrafted rookies alike fared in the 32-16 loss in Week 7.
Game day roster
QB Drake Maye: Even though he is now 0-2 as a starting quarterback in the NFL, first-round draft pick Drake Maye continues to play promising football and be one of the few positives for this team at the moment. Against Jacksonville, Maye went 26-of-37 (70.3%) for 276 yards with a pair of touchdowns to JaMycal Hasty and K.J. Osborn. Despite completing passes at a rate of 70.3 percent, he did have some accuracy issues but overall played a promising game that saw him react well to pressure, showcase his natural arm talent, and make plays with his legs; he finished the day as New England’s co-leader in rushing yards, tying Rhamondre Stevenson’s 18 yards. For a more extensive look at Maye, please click here, here and here.
WR Ja’Lynn Polk: Polk looked like an instant difference-maker for the Patriots in training camp, but he has recently hit a roadblock in his development. Sunday’s performance might have been his most disappointing yet: before exiting the game in the fourth quarter with a head injury, the second-round selection did not catch a single ball on four targets. On two of those plays, he was able to get his hands on the ball but unable to finish what would have been difficult but makable receptions.
RG Layden Robinson: With the Patriots reshuffling their offensive line yet again, Robinson was moved back into the starting lineup. Opening the game as the top option at right guard, he looked solid in pass protection — his biggest weakness early in the season — on the first two drives. However, he suffered what turned out to be a game-ending ankle injury on his 19th snap of the day in the early second period.
CB/ST Marcellas Dial Jr.: Tying Brenden Schooler and Raekwon McMillan with 20 snaps, Marcellas Dial continues to be a core member of the Patriots’ special teams group. As usual, he split his time between kickoff return and coverage, punt return and coverage, and field goal/extra point blocking. Unfortunately, he had an active hand in New England surrendering a 96-yard punt return touchdown in the second quarter: he appeared to vacate his lane, allowing the Jaguars’ Parker Washington to get to the second level and eventual daylight.
TE Jaheim Bell: Even though he played only one offensive snap — he served as motion man on a play that appeared to have some dubious timing — Bell actually had an active day. The seventh-rounder, after all, played a career-high 11 special teams snaps: besides his role on the kickoff and punt return teams, he also was used on the kickoff coverage squads for the first time.
S/ST Dell Pettus: Unlike fellow core special teamer Marcellas Dial, Pettus had an odd day and finished with a career-low five kicking game snaps: four on punt coverage as the personal protector, and one on the field goal/extra point blocking squad. That was a curious change for a player usually used on five units in the game’s third phase. Yes, he also took a costly bad angle on the punt return touchdown, but he already was pulled from other units before that particular play
LB/ST Curtis Jacobs: Just like last week, Curtis Jacobs did not play any defensive snaps versus Jacksonville. Instead, his focus was again exclusively on the kicking game: playing 15 snaps, he was used on New England’s kick and punt return and coverage teams. He also was part of the group that gave up the punt return touchdown, and possibly moved too far downfield. His impact on that particular play overall was not as damaging as Marcellas Dial’s or Dell Pettus’.
Inactive
The rest of the Patriots’ rookie class was not active for game day against the Jaguars. Neither fourth-round WR Javon Baker and sixth-round emergency QB Joe Milton III were activated after making the trip to London.
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.