Sunday Patriots Notes: Drake Maye’s off-field development will be crucial in 2025

Notes and thoughts on the Patriots’ leadership voids, pre-draft measurements, and more.

The busiest days of free agency are firmly in the rear-view mirror, with NFL Draft still almost a month away. In theory, we might find ourselves in a bit of an offseason lull right now. However, if you have visited Pats Pulpit at some point over the last seven days, you know that that is definitely not the case for the New England Patriots.

Between signing wide receiver Stefon Diggs, releasing longtime starting linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley, and several other developments, the team has been quite busy lately. Let’s put a wrap on the week that was, though, and clean out the notebook.

Welcome to the latest edition of our Sunday Patriots Notes.

Drake Maye’s off-field development will be crucial in 2025

Leading up to the Patriots’ Week 10 game against the Chicago Bears last November, Drake Maye asked coordinator Alex Van Pelt if he could address the offense. The unit had just had a sloppy practice, and the rookie quarterback wanted to make sure both he and his teammates committed to raising the standard.

Four days later, the Patriots played one of their better games of the season in a 19-3 road win. Maye taking center stage leading up to the contest may have impacted the final result, but more than that it showed a player willing to step up.

“To have enough courage to stand in front of the whole offense and let us know, ‘This stuff is going to get us beat if we don’t fix it’, that speaks volumes of who he is,” offensive tackle Demontrey Jacobs later said. “I remember thinking, ‘This kid is taking ownership of the details that are going to help us win.’”

The Patriots ended up doing a lot more losing than winning in 2024, which led to a massive overhaul both on the coaching staff and the roster after the season. Part of that turnover was several team leaders departing — a development that created a massive leadership void.

Drake Maye, more than any other single player on the roster, will be asked to fill it.

Being a leader is part of the job, and it is something Maye already embraced as a rookie in 2024. Him standing up in front of the unit leading up to the game in Chicago was just one example of the young quarterback showing his willingness to lead. More of that will be needed in 2025.

According to Alex Van Pelt, who was let go as part of the staff restructuring, Maye is well-suited for that.

“He’s a genuine leader. He cares about the guys, and I think they’ll respond when he says something,” Van Pelt explained during the season.

The Patriots started the 2024 season with six team captains. David Andrews and Ja’Whaun Bentley have both been released; Deatrich Wise Jr. and Jacoby Brissett left as free agents; Jabrill Peppers remains with the team but had his captaincy removed following an in-season arrest; Joe Cardona is still going strong as the lone member of the Patriots’ dynasty era remaining with the team.

Given those changes, the team’s leadership will need to redefine itself. There are some obvious candidates besides Cardona and Peppers, including 2024 stand-in captains Kyle Dugger and Hunter Henry, as well as free agency signings such as Morgan Moses and Robert Spillane.

All of them ending up as captains this year could happen. The same is true for Maye.

“I think there’s no better quarterback you’d want in your franchise,” his new position coach, Ashton Grant, said at the Patriots’ recent draft party.

His abilities on the field are a big reason for that, but so are his skills off of it. For the Patriots to build sustainable success in 2025 and beyond, further developing those skills will be crucial.

Stefon Diggs sees himself filling leadership role

While on the subject of team leaders, free agency signing Stefon Diggs also sees himself as a candidate to become just that. There is precedent, too, with the 31-year-old getting voted a team captain in his first and only season with the Houston Texans in 2024.

“I feel like I could be helpful as far as the development with the receivers and everybody involved,” Diggs explained during his introductory presser on Friday.

“Everybody wants to have success in this league. Everybody wants to play at a very high level. But I feel like I can help more so with the lows just because I’ve experienced them myself on a personal level.”

Diggs is not the oldest player in the Patriots’ receiver room — fellow offseason signing Mack Hollins has him beat by two months — but by far the one with the most impressive career résumé: he is arriving in New England a two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler has gained more than 10,000 yards in his 10-year career.

Along the way, however, he learned that what happens on the field is only one piece of the puzzle. His leadership agenda is reflective of that.

“It’s not all about the Xs and Os,” Diggs said. “With the young guys, bringing them along to show them how to be a professional and how to handle business each and every day will go a long way.”

New QB coach explains why he is ready for the job

There was some speculation that the Patriots might decide to keep last year’s quarterbacks coach, T.C. McCartney, to help with stability around Drake Maye. However, new head coach Mike Vrabel ended up letting McCartney go and hiring Ashton Grant from the Cleveland Browns.

Grant is arriving in Foxboro not having served as a position coach at any point in his NFL coaching career. However, he still feels ready for the challenge.

“Kevin Stefanski was very intentional about my development,” he explained at the aforementioned draft party. “He moved me around every single position on offense besides offensive line, so I could learn it from every single perspective. So, having that background, to be able to translate information to Drake and help him out will be huge.”

Grant will be part of an offensive staff led by veteran coordinator Josh McDaniels, who himself has served as a QB coach for much of his career. How the dynamic between the top 3 — Grant, McDaniels, Maye — will develop remains to be seen.

Regardless, he is feeling quite positive about his starting quarterback and his outlook.

“When this opportunity presented itself, it’s something I jumped on as quickly as possible,” Grant said. “This kid is going to be special. He has all the talent in the world.”

Funky pre-draft measurements raise questions

There is an inherent silliness to NFL Draft season, and this year is no exception. The big story in New England is measurements, especially those of one Mr. Will Campbell: the top offensive lineman in the class and a possible Patriots target, Campbell’s arm length raised questions about his ability to play left tackle at the next level.

Campbell’s arms were measured at 32 5/8 inches at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, but he thought something was up. As a result, he decided to remeasure at the LSU pro day. The result: 33 inches.

“There were a lot of people at the Combine who had messed up measurements,” Campbell said. “I knew my arms were 33 inches. Height, weight, wingspan, arm length — everybody was kind of deducted at the Combine. That’s why I measured in again.”

Campbell is not wrong: comparing arm length measurements from other pre-draft showcases to the Combine shows that the latter repeatedly produced lower results.

At the end of the day, though, a difference of a few fractions of an inch will not be the deciding factor whether a player gets drafted or not.

Will Campbell calls ‘BS’ on arm length debate

Speaking of Will Campbell, he shared his take on the arm length debate at his pro day. Needless to say, he’s not a fan of the discourse.

“For two years, nobody had any measurements on me and nobody said anything about my play,” he said. “So now, all of a sudden, an arm length decides if I’m a good player or not? I think it’s BS. But any decision-makers in the NFL, they don’t really care. It’s all people who don’t coach, and they don’t coach for a reason.”

Ja’Whaun Bentley gets the David Andrews treatment

When the Patriots announced Ja’Whaun Bentley’s release on Friday, they did not mention one detail later revealed through the NFL transactions wire: Bentley, who had suffered a torn pectoral muscle last September, was released with a failed physical designation.

He is in good company when it comes to that label. Fellow longtime captain David Andrews, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in September, also was let go with that designation earlier this month.

What does it mean for the Patriots, though? At the moment, nothing. However, if one or both end up out of football in 2025 due to their injury, they can file for the NFL’s injury protection benefit. If so, New England’s cap would be charged an extra $350,000 for Andrews and $1.26 million for Bentley, according to salary cap expert Miguel Benzan.

Patriots’ dead cap figure in the spotlight

With Ja’Whaun Bentley no longer part of the Patriots’ roster, his remaining contract guarantees worth $1.83 million were added to their dead salary cap space. In total, $19.74 million or 6.12 percent of the team’s adjusted 2025 cap number are allocated for players whose contracts are no longer on the books.

That seems like a lot, but New England — which is still tops in the NFL in actual cap space — is ranked only 21st in that category in a league-wide comparison. The Patriots’ dead cap pales in comparison to other clubs such as the Jacksonville Jaguars ($58.9M), Seattle Seahawks ($67.1M) or San Francisco 49ers ($81M).

Mike Vrabel feels strongly about Patriots’ defensive line

The Patriots’ defensive line will look different both in scheme and personnel in 2025, but head coach Mike Vrabel sounds quite optimistic about the group. Appearing on ex-Patriot Chris Long’s Green Light podcast, Vrabel touched on the state of the group.

“We feel good about what we’ve done,” he said. “We’re excited about what Milton [Williams] is going to bring to our football team. We’re excited to see where Christian Barmore is coming back, and where his availability is going to be.

“Continue to work with some of these young guys. Excited about Keion White and his ability to continue to work on his technique. He’s such a talented athlete with size, that if we can continue to refine some of this technique, that it really is going to help him.”

Quarterback dominos falling into place

This week saw the New York Giants, one of the three teams set to pick ahead of the Patriots in the draft, make another investment at quarterback. After signing Jameis Winston last week, the team now added fellow veteran Russell Wilson.

The move may or may not be a sign of things to come on Day 1 of the draft. According to Giants beat writer Ed Valentine of Big Blue View, however, the writing seems to be on the wall:

Prior to the Wilson signing, there was increasing speculation in the draft community linking the Giants to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

That door may not be 100% closed, but I think Sanders to the Giants at No. 3 is highly unlikely.

If the Giants indeed end up passing on Shedeur Sanders with the third pick in the draft, one of the top two overall prospects — Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter and Penn State ED Abdul Carter — falling to the Patriots at No. 4 seems like a long-shot. In that scenario, the Tennessee Titans would pick quarterback Cam Ward first overall followed by the Cleveland Browns and Giants taking Hunter and Carter, in whichever order, off the board.

Time will tell whether that is what is going to happen, but the Patriots might not find themselves in the same “run to the podium” situation in Round 1 as the last two years.

Please support Doug Kyed’s Visionaries of the Year Fundraiser

Patriots beat writer Doug Kyed is a candidate for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s “Visionaries of the Year” campaign. He is trying to raise $100,000 between March 27 and June 5 to honor the memory of his daughter Hallie, who passed away at the age of 2 in January 2024 following a battle with leukemia.

If you can, please consider supporting the cause. Click here for more information and to donate.

Setting up the week ahead

The week ahead will be a busy one for the Patriots, starting with the annual NFL meeting in Palm Springs. As part of the event, head coach Mike Vrabel will participate in the AFC Coach’s Breakfast between 7:45 and 8:15 a.m ET on Monday, March 31.

Additional media availability is scheduled for Thursday and Friday: the offensive and defensive coaches will be available on those two days, respectively, including new coordinators Josh McDaniels and Terrell Williams.

In addition, the pro day cycle will conclude with Sacramento State (Monday) and Nevada (Tuesday) among the final teams to showcase their draft hopefuls.