The latest edition of our Patriots mailbag answers questions about the trade deadline, offensive line, and more.
Despite the Drake Maye era got off to an encouraging start in Foxboro, the New England Patriots dropped to 1-5 on the season. The team will now head across to the pond to take on the 1-5 Jacksonville Jaguars, a game that could have implications down the line.
So, are the Patriots better off losing? Or can they start to string wins together and perhaps impact their upcoming trade deadline plans? Let’s get into this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag.
Is it too early to be talking about the November 6th trade deadline? There are seven games before NE’s bye, and only two teams have .500 or better records. With a good showing this week in London, could Eliot Wolf choose to buy instead of sell? – 1stStateSoxFan
The NFL trade deadline is just under three weeks away and it could be shaking up to be an interesting first one for Eliot Wolf and his personnel department. While the Patriots were right not to be in the ‘buyers’ market for Davante Adams or Amari Cooper — as Jerod Mayo noted those teams are in different points of their winning “cycle” — New England could be buyers regardless of their record at the deadline.
In the first year of this rebuild, the Patriots need to add as much talent as possible. If they can find a player who can help be part of the solution for multiple years they should not be shy of acquiring them now instead of the offseason.
It is a similar move to what the Chicago Bears, who finished 2023 7-10, did during last year’s deadline when they sent a second-round pick for 27-year old pass rusher Montez Sweat, who they then extended for four years. If the Bengals keep losing, New England could try a similar tactic with Tee Higgins or another player (buy-low target Michael Mayer?) that potentially becomes available earlier than expected.
Are there any good o line pieces the Patriots could grab from another seller before the deadline? I could see New England selling on defense, but if there are ways to help Maye this season instead of waiting until 2025, particularly on the line, that would be a big win. – jpage1003
As for adding potential pieces, acquiring offensive line help early would be a huge boost for Drake Maye and the offense. But, as we’ve noted plenty of times, adding offensive line talent is easier said than done — especially in the middle of the season. If team’s have good offensive line play, they usually aren’t trying to get rid of it.
But for the sake of the exercise, if there was a seller willing to make a move (again unlikely at the position), some potential names could include Cam Robinson (Jaguars, UFA 2025), Kolton Miller (Raiders, UFA 2026), and Taylor Moton (Panthers, UFA 2026).
The upcoming schedule leading into the bye – JAX, NYJ, @TEN, @CHI, LAR, @MIA, IND – is not exactly a murderer’s row. Which one will be Maye’s first win? Can we get 4 of them to bring Maye’s record to .500? – Matt1102
I think this week against the Jaguars is extremely winnable for the Patriots, and I will be in fact picking Maye to get his first career win.
That win will start with Maye, who should be able to find plenty of success against Jacksonville’s defense, which ranks dead last in passing yards per game and total DVOA while their 29.7 points surrendered per game ranks 31st.
Jacksonville also plays a heavy amount of man coverage, which Drake Maye proved he can beat in his first career start against the Texans, completing six passes for 110 yards with two touchdowns and an interception against man. It will be interesting to see how team’s start game planning against the rookie, but Maye could seriously be in store for a 300+ yard passing game — with Pop Douglas again playing a key role.
Additionally by playing lots of man coverage, Jacksonville has been vulnerable by quarterback’s on the ground. Last week, fellow rookie Caleb Williams turned two scrambles into 42 yards. We’ll see how the knee injury affects Maye’s mobility, but he will make defenses pay for playing man coverage with his legs.
On the defensive side of things, Jacksonville has plenty of playmakers around former first overall pick Trevor Lawrence but rank 22nd in points per game. Lawerence has not been the issue, as he’s been hampered by 14 dropped passes this season which has helped lead to their inconsistent offense.
New England’s corners will have to deal with some size at receiver in electric rookie Brian Thomas Jr., Gabe Davis, and slot receiver Christian Kirk, and Lawerence has not been shy of pushing the ball downfield. Elsewhere, the Patriots will have to clean up their recent issues in the ground game as Tank Bigsby leads all qualified rushers in missed tackles forced and yards after contact per rush.
I still side with Maye and New England in this one, and then do think there’s some winnable other games upcoming as well. For as high as I am on the rookie, the Patriots will also need improved play from their defense in order to get back to the .500 mark.
playing Maye now will only hurt our drafting position…I don’t see the advantage of starting him when we have so many issues/concerns that need to be addressed…3-4 more wins could really be detrimental in both the short & long term for this team…I guess now that the genie has bet let out of the bottle we can only hope the poor coaching & inferior play continues elsewhere & doesn’t get Maye killed in the process – KissBillsRings
Personally, I don’t care much about draft position after you get the quarterback. The higher pick is obviously better, but it doesn’t matter as much when you aren’t targeting the quarterback position. The Patriots won’t be with Drake Maye on the roster.
From here on out, I would rather Maye look good and put a few wins on the schedule even if it sacrifices a couple draft slots. That would still help lure free agents and trade targets (unlike Brandon Aiyuk) to Foxboro anyway to improve the team.
How good was Ben Brown really? Has anyone broken down film that can give a legitimate opinion? Some have said he didn’t give up any pressure (which is good for the passing game anyway) while others have said he was bad. – cf27
Ben Brown deserves a ton of credit for his performance on Sunday. Despite logging just two practices and being in the building for four days after taking a redeye from Las Vegas Wednesday night, Brown handled the calls at the line, did not have any poor snaps, and allowed zero pressures while being strong in the run game.
The Texans did not really challenge the center much, however, perhaps something the Jaguars try and take advantage of. He has earned another start this weekend and likely will be flanked by Michael Jordan to his left and rookie Layden Robinson to his right.
What draft pick compensation could the Patriots get by trading the following players before the Trade Deadline? 1. Deatrich Wise Jr. 2. Josh Uche. 3. Jonathan Jones. 4. Tyquan Thornton. 5. Kendrick Bourne. – For Pats Sake
I have my doubts about trading veterans in leadership roles like Deatrich Wise Jr. and Jonathan Jones for what most likely would be a mid-to-late-round draft pick. Kendrick Bourne would fetch a better return, but I’d rather his skillset be available to Drake Maye early in his development.
The two on this list I would listen on are Joshua Uche and Tyquan Thornton. Uche could prove valuable to a contender as a situational pass rusher, perhaps the Detroit Lions after losing Aiden Hutchinson for the season. Thornton may be a harder to find a partner but would take a conditional late-round draft pick in return.
Is Cole Strange coming back any time soon? If so .. is he being groomed for another role (center?) or would he take over back where he was before at LG? – Green Monstah
Strange still resides on the PUP list but he is working his way back. We’ll see how Ben Brown and the rest of the offensive line plays in the mean time, but I would expect Strange to play center upon his return — hopefully providing New England am eventual successor to David Andrews and long term option at the position.
That’s all for this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag. If you have questions you’d liked to be answered next week, submit them online in our weekly submission post or on Twitter using #PostPulpit. Make sure to be following @iambrianhines and @PatsPulpit as well.