The Patriots WR Room: Keep Swinging!
Ja’Lynn Polk.
Javon Baker.
Tyquan Thornton.
N’Keal Harry.
For Patriots fans, those names don’t just sting — they reopen wounds. And if you rewind the clock even further, the list only gets longer and more painful.
It forces an uncomfortable truth: for years, the Patriots have struggled to draft and develop wide receivers.
So what I’m about to say might surprise you.
Keep drafting them. Every single year.
I recently heard @snootyboston echo this on the Savage Boston Podcast, and he’s absolutely right. The NFL has changed. The franchise tag has essentially eliminated the ability to acquire elite wide receivers in free agency. If a team has a top-end WR and can’t extend him, they tag him. And if they still can’t reach a deal? They trade him for value.
There is almost no incentive for teams to let elite receivers walk for nothing.
That leaves contenders with two realistic paths to landing a true difference-maker:
Trade for one — which costs premium draft capital and major money.
Draft one.
And here’s the key: elite receivers are found in the draft every year — and not just in Round 1.
Look at the Rams.
They drafted Cooper Kupp in the 3rd round in 2017. He became one of the best receivers in football. They supplemented him with veterans like Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks and made the Super Bowl in 2018. They drafted Van Jefferson in 2020, who contributed to their Super Bowl win in 2021. They swung and missed on a couple receivers in 2021 — and then hit an absolute grand slam in 2023 with Puka Nacua in the 6th round.
Today, Nacua is 24 years old, making under $5 million, and is arguably the best receiver in football.
That’s the real advantage. It’s not just finding a star — it’s finding one on a rookie contract. When you hit, you gain roster flexibility everywhere else.
Are you likely to draft the next Puka Nacua?
No. Probably not.
But he’s not an anomaly.
Three of the top five receivers in yardage this season were drafted outside Round 1: Puka Nacua (6th), George Pickens (2nd), and Amon-Ra St. Brown (4th). The Patriots’ own Stefon Diggs was originally a 5th-round pick.
The lesson isn’t that drafting receivers is easy.
The lesson is that you don’t stop swinging.
Past failures at the position should not prevent the Patriots from going back to the well — especially under a new regime with a new development program in place.
Now, as for this offseason?
With Drake Maye on a rookie contract and the Patriots back in contention, I’d actually like to see them do both.
Draft another young WR.
And go get a true WR1.
Stefon Diggs will be 33 next season. History tells us wide receivers don’t decline slowly — when it happens, it happens fast. I’d be open to bringing him back at the right number, but this offense needs an alpha.
That’s where A.J. Brown makes sense.
Yes, a trade would cost draft capital and money. But because of his contract structure and age, the compensation is likely less than for younger rumored names like Pickens or others. There’s also a strong possibility any deal centers around future draft capital (2027) due to cap and dead-money considerations on the Eagles side.
Add in Vrabel’s relationship with AJB and the financial flexibility created by Maye’s rookie deal, the move becomes far more realistic than people think.
So my plan for the Patriots WR room?
Trade for A.J. Brown. Spend a pick on another receiver. And maybe Kyle Williams takes that Year 2 leap that so many young wideouts make.
Stack the room. Create competition. Raise the standard.
You don’t solve a weakness by tiptoeing around it — you solve it by attacking it relentlessly until it becomes a strength.
Draft them. Develop them. Be aggressive when the opportunity presents itself.
But above all?
Keep swinging.
Because eventually, you don’t just connect.
You change the franchise.
