Best, worst and most likely scenarios for Drake Maye’s rookie season originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Early July. Time for hot dogs, burned-out lawns, fireworks, vacations and fanciful football content. The kind you disown if you’re wrong. The kind you trumpet if you’re right.
“Called it! Did I not call it? I called it in July!”
MANY ARE SAYING the Patriots will be the worst team in the NFL this season.
It’s hard to give that assertion a hearty Lee Corso. Facts is facts. They were 4-13 last year, couldn’t score, had a “meh” free agency session, are dogged by persistent questions on the offensive line, their potentially pretty good draft is tethered to a quarterback who needs significant fine-tuning and they have a first-year head coach piloting what could be a jarring culture change for the team.
Oodles of questions facing the team and, as Jerod Mayo’s predecessor said about 2,000 times in his 24 seasons in charge, “I don’t have a crystal ball.”
The most likely outcome for 2024 can be delivered in four simple words. “Better. Still not good.”
BUT! It could be better than that. And it could be worse. With that in mind, we’ll do a little exercise over the next week looking at key positions and projecting best case scenario, worst case scenario and most likely scenario in 2024 for each one.
We start with the player whose improvement – or lack thereof – will determine the team’s fortunes for the rest of the decade: Drake Maye.
Best-case scenario
Maye’s improvement from the start of rookie mini-camp in May to his final mini-camp practice a month later was noticeable. The Patriots went all-in on fine-tuning his footwork, timing and accuracy and Maye went from kind-of-robotic to fluid.
He had a number of “wow” throws in early June, showing off his on-the-move accuracy and arm strength. He also showed he’s really, really, REALLY into it in a way that’s goofily and embraceably enthusiastic. He’s happy to be here, happy for the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/best-worst-most-likely-scenarios-181857894.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-07-02 18:18:57
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