Well, the Patriots’ season gets much more exciting in Week 6 against the Texans.
Rookie third-overall pick Drake Maye is set to make his first career NFL start in Gillette Stadium wearing the fan-favorite red throwbacks.
“I think it’ll be pretty sweet in the red throwbacks,” Maye said this week. “I think that’ll be pretty cool to get out there in my first start, and especially in front of these fans. I think Patriots fans are the best fans in the league, and I’m looking forward to playing at Gillette in front of them.”
Here are five players who must help out Maye with strong performances.
WR DeMario Douglas
It’s entirely unsurprising that Douglas is the Patriots’ leading wide receiver. It’s downright shocking that through five weeks he holds that distinction with just 18 catches for 153 yards.
Douglas spoke to reporters this week and expressed his longing to finally score his first NFL touchdown. Perhaps that happens this week with Maye under center.
The second-year pro should benefit from the quarterback change. But Douglas can help out Maye in a major way by getting open quickly and gaining yards after the catch.
The Texans’ pass rush will get home if Maye holds the ball for too long, and Douglas is the type of wide receiver who can gain quick separation against the Texans’ defensive backs. Texans nickelback Jalen Pitre is a solid defender, but he’s never ranked among the best slot cornerbacks in man coverage. Douglas could find an advantage here.
WR Ja’Lynn Polk
Polk was another one of the Patriots’ top wide receivers along with Douglas and Kayshon Boutte in Week 5 with Kendrick Bourne still recovering from a torn ACL.
The early part of Polk’s season somewhat mirrors the early part of training camp for the rookie wide receiver. He was close on big plays early in camp just as he’s been in the first month of the season. Then something clicked, and Polk became the Patriots’ most consistent wideout in camp. The Patriots are still waiting for that to happen in-season.
The Patriots have only attempted 15 deep passes this season. Polk has been on the receiving end of a team-high five of them. He only has one catch for 21 yards, however.
Polk needs to start winning more of his contested catches, and he needs to continue to work on his body control to stay in bounds.
Once he masters those, watch out, because he’s getting open.
The Patriots should feel confident that Maye can deliver better downfield passes to Polk than Brissett. The goal should be to get Polk matched up against the cornerback replacing injured rookie Kamari Lassiter rather than Derek Stingley Jr.
TE Hunter Henry
Henry is the Patriots’ leading pass catcher this season with 180 yards on 16 catches and 11 first downs. He was a safety valve for Brissett, and he can serve the same role for Maye.
Maye and Brissett loved targeting tight ends in training camp, so expect Henry and Austin Hooper to both be heavily involved in Sunday’s matchup with the Texans.
Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair is the Texans’ top coverage linebacker. He’s allowed 166 receiving yards and a touchdown this season. Linebacker Henry To’oTo’o and safety Eric Murray have each given up two receiving touchdowns this year. The Patriots can find an advantageous matchup for Henry as long as he can get open quickly.
LT Vederian Lowe
The much-maligned Lowe earned the NFL’s highest pass-blocking grade last week in the Patriots’ loss to the Dolphins. That should tell you just how inept the offense performed around him.
Lowe didn’t allow any pressures against the Dolphins, but the level of competition wasn’t nearly as high as what he’ll face against Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter this week.
Anderson typically lines up on the defensive right, meaning he’ll face off against Lowe for most of the night. That will leave right tackle Demontrey Jacobs against Hunter.
Both Lowe and Jacobs will need to be at their best, but Lowe will need to replicate last week’s performance to help keep Maye upright.
RG Mike Onwenu
Onwenu is the Patriots’ highest-paid offensive player and simply needs to play better.
He’s earned a 68.5 overall PFF grade this season. Starting at right tackle through the first four weeks, Onwenu moved to right guard in Week 5 and earned a 68.8 mark.
That needs to improve. He allowed four total pressures in Week 5. Onwenu has only allowed four or more pressures two other times in his career, so the Patriots have to hope he’ll give the team a boost as he settles back into guard.
Expect him to face off against Texans interior defensive linemen Mario Edwards Jr., Tim Settle and Folorunso Fatukasi.
