Who's going to be Drake Maye's go-to weapon for the long haul with the New England Patriots? That's an important question the team needs to answer, and the sooner the better.
The Patriots need to find Drake Maye's No. 1 receiver for the future
In his second season, Maye benefited greatly from the arrival of Stefon Diggs. The Maryland native is a veteran receiver who was not only a mentor to Maye and the receiving corps, but he was somebody who actually made his presence felt on the field and gave the UNC product a reliable weapon (85 receptions on 102 targets, 1,013 yards, four touchdowns, played in all 17 games).
With him no longer on the roster after New England waived him (and assuming it doesn't pick him back up... though it might), the team needs to figure out who will take over in that role for Maye and the rest of the offense.
It's no surprise that having a go-to receiver is incredibly helpful to most young quarterbacks (Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison, and even Josh Allen had Diggs himself), and if the Patriots are serious about Maye's development (which they obviously should be), then this should be one of their top priorities.
The Patriots don't have great options for Drake Maye's new No. 1 guy
The elephant in the room is that New England acquiring A.J. Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles seems like a foregone conclusion after June 1st, but a lot can change (i.e., can't agree on a trade package and whether a first-round pick should be involved or not). And until he's officially on the squad, I'm not going to include him here.
Hunter Henry is probably the closest to being Maye's new No. 1 guy, but he's turning 32 years old in December, doesn't open up the offense like Diggs does (because he plays tight end), and is already entering the final year of his contract.
Additionally, Kayshon Boutte (struggles against clearly better cornerbacks not named Derek Stingley Jr. and might not be on the team anyway if the Patriots get Brown), DeMario Douglas (might not even be on the team after training camp and is 5-foot-8), Mack Hollins (not a No. 1 guy and is almost 33 years old), and Kyle Williams (showed flashes as a rookie, but the jury is still out on him) aren't the best of options either.
The Patriots have their guy in Maye, but now, they just need to find a guy for their guy (got it?). If it ends up being Brown, then great. He absolutely fits what the team should be looking for, especially as a Mike Vrabel guy, but let's also not ignore the fact that it's going to cost a pretty penny to acquire him, and given his big contract (and the fact that there are other teams in the NFL that need a receiver that don't hail from New England, which could turn things into a bidding war). Until he's seen at Logan Airport and is in the middle of his introductory press conference, I'm not holding my breath just yet.
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