There are a lot of reasons to be excited about the Patriots this season. For starters, their roster no longer resembles that of a mid-conference DII team. Progress! There's also the whole Mike Vrabel dynamic, which may not age super well but looks great from where we're standing right now.
There's an extremely believable argument that the Patriots could be a Wild Card team this season, and if Drake Maye takes the proverbial Big Leap this year, taking a run at the Bills isn't out of the question.
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The problem, as you've all known for the last six months, is that we don't really know who Maye's going to throw the ball to. But otherwise, things are great! The playmaking group in New England does not exactly inspire a ton of confidence, as evident by the fact that ESPN recently ranked them *30th* league-wide. 30th!
The only teams they beat were the Titans and Panthers. Here's some of the reasoning for the sickos who insist on learning more.
ESPN is *not* sold on the playmakers around Drake Maye in New England
"Do you believe in Stefon Diggs? ESPN's receiver score does, with the tracking metric placing the then-Texans wideout third among all wideouts before he tore his ACL in midseason. At 31, it seems risky to project Diggs to immediately return to that form, let alone his peak years with Josh Allen in Buffalo, but even a limited version of him would comfortably be the best wideout on the New England roster.
There isn't really a Plan B for the lead receiver without Diggs in the mix. Mack Hollins and Pop Douglas are complementary players. Rookie third-rounder Kyle Williams will offer some much-needed speed, but he's not entering the league as a complete receiver who can win at all levels. Ja'Lynn Polk, a second-round pick last year, had an unbelievably bad rookie season, averaging 0.4 yards per route run ...
"Running back Rhamondre Stevenson has struggled with efficiency in a lead role over the past two seasons. You can understand that amid dismal offensive line play, but he also fumbled a whopping seven times on 240 touches last season, a figure the Patriots can't afford to live with again."
To quote the great poet Stephen A Smith: Let's be nice. Let's be nice. We don't have to go there. I mean, you're not wrong, but you didn't have to say it. Everyone's well aware of the problems in New England, and that really seems like a problem for November. Right now, I'll take a double helping of whatever ESPN's Receiver Score ordered. They seem like someone who knows what they're talking about.
(But one or two trades, just to be safe, wouldn't hurt.)