No one can say with any amount of certainty how the season will play out for the New England Patriots, but one thing is becoming increasingly clear: The Patriots have their answer at two of the most important positions on the field.
Drake Maye has made the vaunted second-year leap and looks like one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks. He is an MVP candidate, perhaps even the front-runner, and the Patriots should feel comfortable with their standing at the most important position in sports. They also should feel pretty good about the man protecting him, rookie offensive tackle Will Campbell.
There’s still room for Campbell to improve, but he’s largely held his own in his first season, and perhaps just as important, it’s clear he has a bond with his quarterback. So it really shouldn’t come as much surprise that Campbell believes Maye is already the best … in the entire league.
“He’s playing at an elite level right now,” Campbell told reporters after the Patriots’ Week 11 win on “Thursday Night Football” at Gillette Stadium. “I’m biased, but I think he’s the best player in the NFL.”
It’s probably still a bit early to make such proclamations about Maye — or anyone on the Patriots, really — but he’s certainly been a difference-maker. The Patriots have won eight games in a row, including a Thursday night laugher over the Jets, and the 23-year-old has a 119.1 passer rating over that two-month run.
For Campbell, Maye’s excellence isn’t limited to what he can show in the box score, though.
“There’s no game that we’re out of when we have him,” Campbell continued, per the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed. “Even how good of a player he is, he’s an even better person and an even better teammate. That just makes it that much cooler. To be able to share the huddle and in the locker room, and be friends with somebody like that.
“I just look forward to the future, to continue to play with him and grow with him. As we all continue to grow in the office, he’s got everything in front of him now. I’m super excited to be a part of it.”
As the Patriots showed on “Thursday Night Football,” it’s not just Maye and Campbell providing hope for the future. TreVeyon Henderson has quite literally taken the ball and run with it, as the rookie running back is making the most of his opportunity in light of Rhamondre Stevenson’s injury.
Henderson scored all three Patriots touchdowns against the Jets and looks like another staple of the New England offense for the next few years.
“Henderson reached the end zone three times against New York on Thursday night, giving him five touchdowns in five days,” The Athletic’s Andy Behrens wrote. “Over his last two games, he’s delivered 243 scrimmage yards while playing 85.9% of the offensive snaps. Suddenly — and in defiance of everything — Henderson has seized control of New England’s backfield.”
That trio, plus wideout Kayshon Boutte, is a tremendous foundation for an offense that should be a problem for NFL for the foreseeable future.
Saints’ Alvin Kamara on verge of breaking Marshall Faulk’s NFL record for RB receiving originally appeared on The Sporting News
There have been very few running backs in NFL history like Alvin Kamara.
The New Orleans Saints’ star is great rushing, but he’s also exceptional receiving. And because of that, he’s on the verge of a couple of NFL records.
ESPN’s Katherine Terrell shared these stats:
Alvin Kamara can become the 5th running back in NFL history with 600 career receptions if he catches 27 more passes
Alvin Kamara needs 56 catches to pass Marshall Faulk for most receptions by a RB in his first nine seasons
Kamara, 30 years old, enters this season with 573 career catches. On those receptions, he has 4,762 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns.
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That’s in addition to 6,779 rushing yards and 60 TDs on the ground.
The Saints aren’t expected to be a great team this year. They’ve got Spencer Rattler starting at QB in Week 1, and that could become rookie Tyler Shough before long.
Kamara will have to be the steadying force. He’s still expected to get the most running touches, and he certainly will get thrown to plenty on short plays to try and give the inexperienced QBs a chance.
Given that role, Kamara can likely pass Faulk if he stays healthy.
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He’s only had one season with fewer than 56 catches, and that was when he had 47 in just 13 games in 2021.
If Kamara is on the field, passing Faulk should be no problem.
And to pass Faulk in an RB receiving stat is as good as it gets.