We’re running a mailbag on Thursdays during the season. If you have questions on the Patriots, NFL, or want gripe about past answers, email cmason@masslive.com or tweet @bychrismason. Now let’s get to this week’s questions!
Diana Russini said that the others around the league believe the coaching staff is safe, would that change with a bad finish to the season or is it assumed they’re going to be safe until next season? — Conor M.
I think it’d take a disastrous finish for anything to change in 2025. For the sake of brevity, I’ll keep this discussion to the head coach and two coordinators.
Let’s start with Jerod Mayo, who was hand-picked by Robert Kraft and had a succession clause written into his contract because the Patriots owner felt so strongly about him. Kraft is essentially letting Mayo learn on the job in his first season. It’s been far from perfect — Rams defensive game plan, wrong OT direction in Tennessee, etc. — but why suffer through those growing pains and not see what Mayo learns by his second season? With a talent-starved roster, rookie quarterback, and 38-year-old first time coach, this was always going to be a rebuilding year. I’d be shocked if Kraft opts to start over.
“(Players) make their biggest jump from year one to year two,” Mayo said earlier this month. “My expectation for me personally as a head coach is to make the biggest jump from year one to year two.”
Beyond that, making Mayo a one-and-done coach would scream organization instability and scare off potential suitors — especially after Kraft felt so strongly about him that he eschewed a coaching search just 10 months ago.
In Alex Van Pelt’s case, I think it’d take a major regression from Drake Maye to make an offensive coordinator change. The rookie’s development is the single most important thing to the future of the franchise, and he’s been getting better every single week. Why rip the rug out from under him and Van Pelt when it appears they’re growing together? Too many coordinator changes can be hazardous to a young quarterback’s health. Just ask Mac Jones, who got worse every season in Foxborough.
I think it’d take an exceptional external candidate for the Patriots to move on from Van Pelt, and even if somebody like Brian Daboll becomes available, what are the odds that he stays in New England for more than one year if things go well? Slim. I’d bet the Patriots continue to take the long-view here with Van Pelt, even if the Krafts are reportedly calling around.
Lastly, I think DeMarcus Covington has been the least inspiring of the trio this season — I’m still flummoxed by the all-out blitz on the Cooper Kupp touchdown — but he’s in the same boat as Mayo in regards to being a young coach in a new spot for the first time. These are the growing pains Covington needs to learn from, and the attrition on his side of the ball has been no joke. Lest we forget, the Patriots are without Ja’Whaun Bentley and Jabrill Peppers, Matthew Judon is a distant memory, and Christian Barmore just returned this week. They’ve been without impact players at every level all season.
So barring something unforeseen, I’d bet all three are back on New England’s sideline for Week 1 of the 2025 season.
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It used to be that punt returners were coached not to catch a punt inside the 10-yard line. But now I see returners catching the punt anywhere inside the 10 then run it for a 5-10 yard return. Why the change in coaching strategy? — Tom B.
I really liked this question, so I asked Marcus Jones about it in the locker room on Wednesday. I’d also been taught that returners should plant their feet on the 10-yard line and let anything over their head go.
Jones told me that sometimes he’s still instructed to use the old 10-yard line rule, but other times it’s amended to the 8-yard line. The game-to-game variance is dependent on the opposing punter and the conditions. At the NFL level, they scout things that closely because some punters have gotten ridiculously precise.
How will the Patriots fill their open roster spot? — Miguel
I think they’re hopeful that Cole Strange will have a great week of practice and command that spot, but 11 months is a long time to go without playing a snap of football. We’ll see how quickly he can get up to speed.
Will Caeden Wallace be an upgrade at RT? Would Cole Strange be an improvement at either LG or C? Is “Full Moon Fever” a top ten 80s album? — Chris
1. It depends on how Wallace’s ankle responds. If he’s not 100%, I think he’ll have a really hard time adjusting to NFL speed, though they’ll likely play him at some point regardless. He needs the reps.
2. At left guard, yes, I think Strange would be an improvement. TBA on the center spot. Don’t have enough info on his prowess there yet.
3. Absolutely. Though I don’t really think of Full Moon Fever as an 80s album because it’s so timeless.
Do you think the Patriots will (or should) trade down a top 5-6 first round draft pick? Basically do you think there is more value in two okay linemen over one that’s really good in this draft class? — Dobby
I don’t know that there’s going to be one “really good” one at the top of the board. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler recently released his Top 50 Draft prospects and there wasn’t an offensive lineman in the Top 10.
The consensus Top 2 tackles in the draft are LSU’s Will Campbell (No. 11 in Brugler’s rankings) and Texas’ Kelvin Banks (No. 18), both of whom have major question marks. For Campbell, it’s his arm length, and Banks “spends too much time on the ground,” according to Brugler. Ultimately, both college tackles could wind up at guard at the NFL level.
So the more I take an early peek at this stuff, the more I think it might be wise to snag a wideout early and keep looking for a tackle in the top of the second round. Between the CFP, showcase games, and NFL Combine, there’s still a long way to go before we get to the draft though.
Who are the big names at WR in free agency if we can’t land Tee Higgins? Or do we end up going WR 1st round in such a case? — Hazen F.
I wouldn’t rule out double dipping on a first-round wideout and trying to sign a veteran in free agency, given the way the top of this NFL Draft is shaking out at the tackle spot, as referenced above.
The best non-Higgins free agents are Amari Cooper, Stef Diggs, Chris Godwin, and DeAndre Hopkins. Godwin is the name on that list that catches my eye. I think he could be an adult in the room for young wideouts and show them what it takes to actually win; he could either flash his Super Bowl ring or get Tom Brady on the phone to verify that. And coming off injury, his market could be depressed.
Why wasn’t Christian Gonzalez matched up against Puka Nacua or Cooper Kupp? — @PatsSavage
A poor initial game plan that was compounded by a lack of adjustment. Mayo said it was “more about the size matchup” with the Rams wide receivers, but either way, not making a major change at halftime is hard to defend.
Fortunately, it sounds like the game plan is changing for Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle this week.
“This is a little bit different,” Mayo said. “You look at last week, it was more about the size matchup. This week, it’s about the speed matchup. We have guys in the locker room who have covered those guys relatively well, and we just have to continue to do that. I would say when you look at matchups like that, it’s always fun to see a guy travel with a guy. But again, they learn you, and you’re learning them during the game. I think there is something to sometimes changing those matchups up just to throw it off.”
With offensive linemen so hard to find, how did Joe Thuney end up on the Kansas City Chiefs? — Miller
There are 80 million reasons that Thuney wound up in Kansas City, though you could make a strong case that he’s been worth every penny. New England’s offensive line certainly hasn’t been the same since they let Thuney walk and traded Shaq Mason in back-to-back years. It’s not a coincidence that they’re both still starting for AFC playoff teams.
Do you think the Patriots intend to bring in some new LBs during the offseason whether it be draft or FA? — Richie T.
Yes. Linebacker depth has been one of the major reasons the Patriots defense has regressed mightily this season.
Losing Ja’Whaun Bentley was obviously going to hurt, but I don’t think anybody in New England’s front office anticipated his absence being this impactful. If you’re a fan of The Office, losing Bentley feels a little like when Dwight takes the job at Staples, and then Michael realizes how many little things he’d quietly been doing at Dunder Mifflin that went unnoticed. (If you’re not an Office fan, you can still probably put two and two together here).
Even with the captain back in 2025, look for the Patriots to solidify the depth chart behind him.
