FOXBOROUGH — Five thoughts on the Patriots ahead of their Week 9 matchup in Tennessee . . .
1. Even though rookie quarterback Drake Maye suffered a concussion Sunday at the end of a scramble, the Patriots aren’t going to discourage him from using his legs. But they do want him to be more mindful of how he treats the end of those plays.
“One thing we talked about was being safe with the slide,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said. “Oftentimes you get into space where you feel like you’re clean and you can go feet first, which is what we coach in open space, but you never know what’s coming from behind. The quarterbacks that avoid injury oftentimes will find a soft place by going head first and just getting down in that regard. That’s something we continue to work on with him, just understanding what’s around you in those situations.”
Maye left Sunday’s game at the beginning of the second quarter after Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood levied a helmet-to-helmet hit at the end of Maye’s 18-yard scramble. Prior to that play, Maye also had scrambles of 11 and 17 yards.
Advertisement
Through his three starts, Maye has rushed for 102 yards on 11 carries. None of those plays were designed runs because Van Pelt believes Maye will register enough carries naturally. He doesn’t want to put his young quarterback at further risk by calling run plays for him.
Van Pelt noted that certain high-leverage situations — fourth-and-1 or game-on-the-line plays — may warrant a designed quarterback run, but he believes a typical game plan will have enough opportunities for him to utilize his mobility.
“I’ve been in systems where you have quarterback runs and they’ve led to injury, season-ending injury,” Van Pelt said. “He’s going to make enough plays outside the pocket in a normal drop-back game or play-action game where he scrambles. Ultimately, it’s that balance of protecting your quarterback. I have to protect him as well as he has to protect himself.”
Of Maye’s 11 scrambles as a starter, seven have been converted for a first down. His ability to extend plays and create with his legs certainly makes him a dynamic quarterback, even behind a shaky offensive line (which has also improved in recent weeks).
Advertisement
According to Next Gen Stats, Maye reached a top speed of 20.33 miles per hour on his 17-yard touchdown run last week, which is the fastest recorded speed by a Patriots quarterback since Jacoby Brissett in Week 3 of the 2016 season.
The Patriots value Maye’s mobility as a critical part to his game, and this head injury, albeit concerning and not ideal, isn’t going to change their stance. Still, they’re using the concussion as a teaching point for the rookie.
“You hate to take that away from a player,” Van Pelt said. “That’s a strength of his, his ability to move out of the pocket.
2. Van Pelt called wide receiver Kayshon Boutte’s play over the last four weeks “exceptional.”
“He’s making plays on the ball down the field,” Van Pelt said. “Kayshon’s a guy that continues to improve each week and now he’s becoming one of our most consistent guys.”
After he was drafted in the sixth round in 2023, Boutte barely saw the field as a rookie. Now, he’s starting to cement himself as a reliable deep threat for the Patriots. Boutte has four receiving plays of at least 20 yards, which is the most among New England’s wide receivers.
The 22-year-old Boutte also has shown up on tape as an effective blocker, as he helped clear the way for Rhamondre Stevenson on his touchdown run Sunday. It makes sense that he’s logged the most snaps among Patriots wide receiver over the last two games.
Wide receiver obviously remains a need, but Boutte has shown potential as a solid complementary piece. He, along with DeMario Douglas, is under contract through the 2026 season, with a very low salary cap hit of $1.08 million in 2025 and $1.19 million in 2026.
Advertisement
3. As Tuesday’s trade deadline nears, the Patriots have to decide whether it’s worth shipping out a veteran leader in exchange for draft capital. Three of the top candidates — cornerback Jonathan Jones, wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, and nose tackle Davon Godchaux — are influential voices in the locker room, making their possible void bigger than an on-field position.
If the Patriots can only fetch a sixth- or seventh-round pick for these players, then coach Jerod Mayo should see more value in keeping them in the locker room in order to help solidify his culture. He could use veteran voices to reinforce his message, while younger players could look to the veterans as positive influences.
The Patriots have nine picks in the 2025 NFL Draft — one in the first round, one in the second, two in the third, one in the fourth, one in the fifth, and three in the seventh.
There is value in having late-round picks, not only in hopes of finding tremendous value (e.g. Douglas and Boutte in the sixth in 2023, Michael Onwenu in the sixth in 2020) but also in hopes of moving up the draft board.
The Patriots do have wide-ranging needs headed into this offseason, but, given where they are in their rebuild and Mayo’s tenure, it certainly seems more valuable to retain their leaders unless another team is willing to part with, say, a fourth-rounder.
4. Using data from Next Gen Stats, ESPN released some metrics pertaining to the performance of teams’ offensive and defensive lines on Tuesday. According to the numbers, the Patriots rank last in pass block win rate this season. Their offensive linemen are able to sustain their blocks only 45 percent of the time. They also rank 31st in run block win rate.
Advertisement
Those numbers are unsurprising, given the performance of New England’s offensive line to start the season. But the group is starting to find some continuity and consistency.
Through Weeks 1-5, with Brissett under center, the Patriots surrendered a pressure rate of 46 percent, which ranked 32nd in the league. Through Weeks 6-8, with Maye under center, that number dropped to 35 percent, which ranked 15th. Although the offensive line has likely benefited from Maye’s playmaking skills, there’s still some noticeable improvement.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 31, 2024
5. One of the AirKrafts transported the Dodgers, along with their new World Series hardware, from New York to Los Angeles after their series-clinching Game 5 Wednesday. The Dodgers use the company that charters the AirKrafts when not in use by the Patriots.
Nicole Yang can be reached at nicole.yang@globe.com.Follow her @nicolecyang.