Some Patriots news and notes on this Tuesday:
1) This is the time of year where we see all kinds of predictions, with Cam Garrity of USA TODAY having ChatGPT run a simulation on how this year’s New England Patriots team will fare, and the data was certainly interesting.
The most notable totals were on the offensive side of the football, with it projecting second-year quarterback Drake Maye passing for 4,307 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions.
But there were several other extremely eye-opening totals. The first was the fact it believes rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson is about to light things up in 2025, and the prediction is pretty staggering.
It had Henderson racking up 1,104 yards rushing along with 10 touchdowns, as well as 321 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns through the air.
That’s pretty amazing. The expectations are certainly high for Henderson, who was an explosive player at Ohio State and the hope is that he’ll inject some life into a Patriots offensive that didn’t show much on that side of the ball for a good portion of last season.
Henderson is currently the only Patriots draft pick still unsigned, and he’ll look like a bargain with a rookie deal if he puts up those types of totals.
The other wild number came from second-year wideout Ja’Lynn Polk, who it projected would pile up 960 receiving yards on 90 catches this season, including 7 touchdowns.
Given Polk’s struggles last season and a lot of the uncertainty surrounding him ahead of camp, that one definitely stood out. Granted, no one will complain if Polk achieves those numbers, but he’s a player who some are even wondering will survive what’s currently an extremely competitive room. Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald recently wrote it will be tough on him given that both Josh McDaniels and Mike Vrabel have no history with him, which means he’s going to have to have a strong camp.
Finally, the other number that was outrageous came from rookie wideout, Kyle Williams, who it had seemingly leading all wideouts in receiving yards with 1,203 receiving yards, 6 touchdowns, all of which came on 89 receptions.
Williams is a player who has already had a great spring and he was someone both analysts and fans were happy to see get drafted. That’s a high bar for him to reach, and it would be surprising to see him hit it.
Overall, here are the full offensive totals Garrity provided:
- Drake Maye (QB):4,307 passing yards, 36 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, Completion %: 66.1 | Passer Rating: 104.3
- TreVeyon Henderson (RB):1,104 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns, 4.6 YPC, 321 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns
- Rhamondre Stevenson (RB):752 rushing yards, 7 touchdowns, 288 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
- Kyle Williams (WR):1,203 receiving yards, 6 touchdowns, 89 receptions
- Ja’Lynn Polk (WR):960 receiving yards, 7 touchdowns, 90 receptions
- Stefon Diggs (WR):819 receiving yards, 6 touchdowns (returned mid-season after injury)
It also had some additional interesting totals on the defensive side of the football, which you can view in Garrity’s piece here.
2) Maye has had a solid spring, with the young quarterback still building his relationship with new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
Hunter Henry spoke to Steve Burton during the latest edition of Patriots All Access, and he feels Maye has already grown significantly, especially given what’s been thrown at him.
“He’s doing great, man,” said Henry. “Obviously, a new scheme, a lot of new things, a lot of new reads, a lot of new calls, putting a lot on him at that position, too. Obviously, at the quarterback position, this demands a lot, and I feel like he’s responding really well. And the leadership’s coming along, too, and he’s doing a great job.”
With McDaniels, Henry explained that a lot of the language that was used back in 2021 is similar, with some new things mixed in.
“There’s a lot of similar things, and it’s like getting back into it, hearing the verbiage again, hearing getting a feel for things a little bit and seeing things,” he said. “But working through it with Drake, obviously, is different in how he sees things. We’ve added a few new flavors to the offense a little bit. It’s been good.”
When it comes to Mike Vrabel, Henry told Burton that playing for his new coach is “very challenging,” adding that “accountability” is a key word that comes to mind.
“He demands a lot,” said Henry. “And so you got to love playing for a guy like that.”
3) The Patriots made an interesting move on Monday, with ML Football posting on Twitter that former offensive tackle Yasir Durant has returned to New England.
Mark Daniels of MassLive pointed out on X that Durant spent last season with the UFL’s DC Defenders, with he and his team just winning a title.
Durant was reportedly named to the All-UFL team after starting at left tackle for them.
The deal is reportedly for one-year, with the details yet to be disclosed.
The former undrafted free agent out of Kansas City in 2020 spend one season in New England after the Chiefs him to New England for a 2022 seventh-round pick on September 1, 2021.
He was subsequently waived the following summer on August 30, 2022. He then spent a season in New Orleans and Denver before landing in the UFL in 2024, and has clearly come a long way as a player since his first stint here in New England.
The Patriots had an open roster spot thanks to the recent retirement of Wes Schweitzer.
4) Speaking of 2021, here’s a fun look back from that offseason, with a reminder that what happens in the spring clearly doesn’t mean much.
Isaiah Zuber got a little love that year, with NBC Sports Boston talking the young wideout up that spring, especially after a comment Curran made at the time about who he reminded him of.
“I love Isaiah Zuber,” said Curran. “I hate to tell you this, but there are occasions where I say, ‘you know, Isiah Zuber kind of just does about exactly what N’Keal Harry does.’”
Harry was still with the team at the time, and had been the subject of trade rumors that offseason.
Prior to that summer Zuber appeared in four games in 2020 and caught two passes for 29-yards, while also carrying it twice for 21-yards after working his way into the offense as an undrafted free agent. He said last Thursday that he’s more confident heading into his second season in New England.
“Being in the offense for a whole year, I’m more comfortable now, I feel more like myself out there,” Zuber said via WEEI. “I’m not doing too much thinking. I’m just going out there and playing being able to play fast.”
N’Keal Harry was someone that Curran also pointed out just doesn’t look smooth, which is interesting considering how much we heard about his work last offseason on improving his footwork.
Meanwhile, Curran also had a couple of comments about both Gunner Olszewski and Jakobi Meyers, pointing out that Meyers has really impressed so far.
“Gunner Olszewski continues to look like a guy who is very good with the ball in his hands,” said Curran. “He has suspect hands, though, and that will happen when as you go from corner to receiver, which he still is in the process of doing.”
Obviously, we know how each of those names played out. Curran has joked about predictions he’s made this time of year, and it sort of applies to all of us when it comes to trying to make any real judgement with not much of a body of work to really look it.
It’s also just another a reminder that we do need to temper our expectations ahead of seeing some of these guys take the field with pads on against real competition one month from now.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
