The New England Patriots need to be doing a lot more to help their up-and-coming star No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye. They have clearly found something in Maye and they need to be doing a much better job to help his growth in the NFL. While they have yet to really do that at all, they added a former Pro Bowl defensive end.
The team is one of the worst in the league and needs tons of help on both sides of the ball, but they have yet to bring in anyone on the offensive line or receiving core to help Drake and his success. Instead, they are bringing in a defensive end who has been cut quite a few times from many teams in the league. Maybe the Patriots made this move after all the criticism from Bill Belichick after he was roasting his former team for not being able to stop the run.
Patriots Bring in Former Pro Bowler To Help Defensive Line
The team has started 2-7 and has lost to multiple bad teams in the season so far, but their rookie quarterback has come in and made an instant impact. He has looked incredible with his arm and running ability, with one of the worst offensive lines, receiving cores, and running backs in the NFL. This team needs to do a much better job than they did with Mac Jones because Maye has already shown he is a franchise quarterback in this league.
Instead, the team has been more focused on the defensive side of the ball. After they traded away one of their top pass rushers Josh Uche, and they gave away their best defender from previous seasons Matthew Judon, the team’s defense has not been great all year. So the team is turning to former Pro Bowler in Yannick Ngakoue:
According to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Patriots are claiming Yannick Ngakoue off waivers.
Ngakoue, a former third-round pick out of Maryland, has played for several teams during his career. He began his NFL tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars, playing four seasons and earning his lone career Pro Bowl appearance in 2017.
After his time in Jacksonville, Ngakoue would split the 2020 season with both the Minnesota Vikings and the Baltimore Ravens. The pass rusher signed a two-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders before the 2021 season, then was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in 2022.
Also Read: Patriots: Jerod Mayo Has Strong Response To Criticism By Former Coach Bill Belichick
This will be a great test for the Patriots and for Drake Maye specifically, as they will play the first quarterback taken in this draft. That is another team that has been playing poorly, but this Patriots team has had to struggle to even be in games with the worst teams in the NFL.
This is looking like a multi-year rebuilding process for the team, and they still do not know if they have the right coaches for Drake and his future success. But as long as they have found their quarterback for the future, they can begin to put the right pieces around him for success. Drake showed last week that he can make plays that almost no other quarterback can, and who knows what he will be able to do with a good roster around him?
Maye has been putting up incredible numbers with the worst offensive roster in the league:
HISTORIC: #Patriots QB Drake Maye is only quarterback NFL HISTORY to do so in first four career starts…
• 700 passing yards
• 6 passing touchdowns
• 60 completion percentage
• 200 rushing yards
• Rushing touchdown🤯
(Via: @scoutdnfl) pic.twitter.com/oZSEF8CqtT
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) November 8, 2024
DRAKE MAYE MAGICCCCCCCCC!!!!!!!!!
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/UvIB3dRi8k
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 3, 2024
Related: Bill Belichick Keeps Taking Shots At New England Patriots Coaching Staff
