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Mike Reiss, ESPN editor
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Quick thoughts and notes on the New England Patriots and the NFL:
1. Mayo’s big call: When NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder analyzed the league’s 2024 schedule during a conference call with reporters last week, he noted that the top three picks in the draft of the NFL were presented.
“Some of the new faces – Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye – you’ll see them in the first few weeks of the season looking at the schedule with appearances for Chicago, Washington and New England all in the domestic windows.” , Schroeder said. “That’s one of the benefits of moving the release of the schedule to after the draft.”
Schroeder’s remarks underscore how the NFL is still keen to promote its next generation of hopeful stars. Williams and the Bears visit the Texans on Sunday night in Week 2, Maye and the Patriots travel to face the Jets on Thursday night in Week 3, and Daniels and the Commanders visit the Bengals on Monday night in Week 3. 3.
This assumes, of course, that Maye is playing.
First-year Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo has been clear on his quarterback plans: He subscribes to Bill Belichick’s philosophy that few rookies are ready to play immediately, saying he will act as an open competition with veteran Jacoby Brissett (48 career starts), Maye. , 2022 fourth-round pick Bailey Zappe and 2024 sixth-round pick Joe Milton III to determine the top signal-caller.
Specifically to Maye, he said the night the Patriots drafted him, “They try to set timetables, but you never know when that time will be.”
The Bears have already determined that the time is right for Williams, having named him a Day 1 starter. Many predict the Commanders will ultimately do the same with Daniels, 23, in part because he is well-seasoned entering in the NFL with 55 career college starts. Meanwhile, Maye, 21, has started 26 games at North Carolina and so some believe he would benefit from looking behind Brissett, while others – like the ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback NFL Tim Hasselbeck – subscribe to the philosophy that the best way for a quarterback to learn is to play.
Mayo’s decision on when to insert Maye into the lineup, the main storyline surrounding a team that otherwise had no prime-time league appeal, will be among the most important of its young coaching career.
The prospect Maye offers the Patriots bears similarities to that of 1993, when quarterback Drew Bledsoe – who, like Maye, was among the youngest prospects at the position that year – was selected first overall in the draft. NFL Draft. Then coach Bill Parcells said at the time: “I promise you I won’t throw him to the wolves.”
Bledsoe, of course, was thrown to the wolves. The team went 5-11, but in winning the final four games, showed an arc of improvement indicating better days were ahead for the franchise. The Patriots went 10-6 the following year and made the Super Bowl in the 1996 season.
Bledsoe, in an interview with ESPN.com, was asked if he saw a connection between those days and the Patriots’ current setup.
“It’s different in the sense that the Patriots never really had much success (when I got there). They went to the only Super Bowl (in 1985), but other than that, they didn’t haven’t always been relevant While it hasn’t been that long since they ruled the world, there’s still a lingering level of expectation in the face of all that success. right to choose where they chose to watch last year, that’s for sure,” he said.
“You have the new coaching staff and the new rookie quarterback coming in, so there are some obvious parallels as well, for sure. I don’t think it’s crazy at all. Now, it’s going to be very interesting to see where it goes from here, if they can rebuild that championship culture and start progressing again.”
Bledsoe said offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who was his backup with the Bills in 2002 and 2003, will be a key asset for Maye because of his “football knowledge and demeanor.”
As for his advice for Maye, Bledsoe said: “He’s going to have to have a thick skin and be patient. It’s not going to happen immediately. He’s going to have to be very strong mentally and emotionally to get through some of the tough times — if they throw him right away. You have Jacoby there; they’re not in a situation where they have to throw him on the field right away.
2. Brady calls NE: The Patriots currently have six of their games scheduled to air on Fox, which raises a question: Could Tom Brady, in his first season as the network’s No. 1 analyst, call any of between them ?
Fox’s games are Sept. 15 vs. the Seahawks (1 p.m. ET), Sept. 29 vs. 49ers (4:05 p.m. ET), Oct. 6 vs. Dolphins (1 p.m. ET), Nov. 3 vs. Titans . (1 p.m. ET), November 10 against the Bears (1 p.m. ET) and November 17 against the Rams (1 p.m. ET).
Brady will still be assigned to Fox’s best game in the national window, which, given the Patriots’ lower status, makes it less likely that he will have a long slate of games in New England (if at all).
From the looks of it, the Patriots-Bears game (perhaps Williams vs. Maye) might have the best chance of landing, as CBS has the doubleheader that week with Eagles-Cowboys at 4:25 p.m. ET.
3. Judon next? New Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf has checked items off his contract “to-do” list, recently extending the deal of starting center and team leader David Andrews.
So perhaps the most important piece remaining is veteran outside linebacker Matthew Judon, who is set to earn a base salary of $6.5 million in the final year of his contract. That’s well below market for a player of his caliber, and it’s hard to imagine Judon agreeing to play under those conditions. At the same time, Judon’s return from a torn biceps that limited him to four games last season, coupled with his age (32 in August), adds layers of note in any negotiation.
4. New step: The Patriots are scheduled to host three volunteer-run team activities this week, marking their move to Phase 3 of the offseason program. Members of the media are expected to be in attendance for the first OTA on Monday. Brissett, who complimented Maye, should get the first reps at quarterback. https://x.com/MikeReiss/status/1791165872783990901
Of the QB dynamic, Brissett said: “The great thing about our room is that everyone wants to be the guy, and everyone is competing to be the guy. That’s what you want. If none of us wanted to play, it would be a waste we would be in bad hands in this organization.
5. Maye’s business trip: Maye was one of 40 rookies who attended the NFL Players Association Rookie Premiere in Los Angeles May 15-19, joining wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk (second round) and Milton (sixth round). The goal of this annual event is to educate players about the business side of gaming and help them grow their existing supporters. Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner addressed the rookies, who also donned their game jerseys for the first time.
6. Mayo’s approach: Mayo is the seventh head coach Brissett has played under, joining Belichick, Chuck Pagano, Frank Reich, Brian Flores, Kevin Stefanski and Ron Rivera. Brissett’s first impression of Mayo’s coaching approach was favorable.
“He brings a lot of good energy,” he said. “The cool thing is you can see he’s trying to get the players on the team to lead the team. Obviously he’s the head coach and he sets the standard, but it definitely puts a lot of responsibility on us players. I like it.”
7. Late goodbye: NFL Vice President of Broadcast Planning Mike North explained last week how more and more NFL teams are not requesting time off the week after playing international games, which explains , in part, why the Patriots’ bye week is December 8th instead of October 27th. This is the last possible bye for New England, which will face Jacksonville at Wembley Stadium in London on October 20.
Of the seven decisions taking into account the Jaguars playing back-to-back international games, four teams (Vikings, Bears, Giants, Panthers) requested the week off upon returning to the United States, while three did not. not done (Jets). , Jaguars, Patriots).
8. They said it: “I feel like I’ve built a lot of muscle in a lot of areas that needed it; just to be able to take more impact. I feel like all my injuries have come from being hit the ground, so I can bounce when I hit the ground — third-year Patriots receiver Tyquan Thornton, who started his first two seasons on injured reserve (fractured collarbone and shoulder).
9. Bill Walsh Scholars: The Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship has helped college coaches gain exposure to NFL training camps and offseason training programs for more than 30 years, and the Patriots welcome Purdue’s TJ McCollum and former Browns running back/South Carolina assistant Montario Hardesty this offseason as part of the program. McCollum already has a connection to a member of the organization, as he played alongside linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley at Purdue in 2017.
10. Did you know: The Patriots are one of 12 teams this season that shouldn’t face an opponent that just finished its bye week. They are the only team in the NFL to not have weeks in which they have less rest than the opposing team.