The fastest way to expedite a rebuild is to crush it in the draft.
It may technically still be too soon to put a “Crushed It” grade on the Patriots’ 2025 draft class, but this much is true: The reason the Patriots are 8-2 instead of 7-3 is because of the work of the first-year players on the field in Tampa on Sunday.
Will Campbell, the fourth overall pick, remains absolutely rock solid at left tackle, and third-rounder Jared Wilson — despite some ups and downs — has been a reliable starter at left guard. Their work on the much-improved offensive line has been a major part of the Patriots’ rise to the top of the AFC as well as Drake Maye’s budding MVP candidacy.
Yet Sunday’s game was about the two players selected between Campbell and Wilson, as TreVeyon Henderson and Kyle Williams finally contributed in ways that the Patriots’ front office envisioned when selecting them early in the second and third rounds, respectively.
(The front office, in this case, will involve Mike Vrabel, Ryan Cowden, John Streicher, Eliot Wolf, Matt Groh and Alonzo Highsmith. Potentially in that exact order. Though we can’t be entirely certain of the dynamics.)
Henderson entered the game with just 283 rushing yards in nine games. But with Rhamondre Stevenson sidelined for a second straight game, he finally broke out.
A 55-yard touchdown run coming out of halftime displayed his elite speed, as he burst through the hole at full speed and topped 22 mph while out-running three defenders who had no chance to catch him.
In case you’re not a student of running speeds, Next Gen Stats noted that Henderson’s 22.01 mph was the fifth-fastest speed reached by any ball-carrier in the NFL this season.
(That leader is Jonathan Taylor, who hit 22.38 mph in Week 2, if you were curious. Jahmyr Gibbs — twice — and Brian Thomas Jr. fill out the spots between Taylor and Henderson.)
And with the game very much in jeopardy late in the fourth quarter, Henderson again turned on the jets for another touchdown, this one going for 69 yards. (We’ll dive into his decision to score instead of going down in a bit, but a rookie having the presence of mind to check with the sidelines in that moment is crazy enough on its own.)
Henderson finished with 147 rushing yards and the two scores on just 14 carries.
And though Williams only caught one pass, he made it count, showing off his speed by smoking Tykee Smith in a footrace. Zyon McCollum had an angle on Williams, too, but underestimated the rookie’s speed.
The 69th overall pick in the draft, Williams has struggled to carve out a role in a receiver room that’s been surprisingly effective. Yet with Kayshon Boutte out due to a hamstring injury, the Patriots needed someone else to make the game-changing explosive play.
And Williams seized the moment.
So while yes, drafts are judged years down the line based on long-term production and contributions to a franchise, the fact is that the Patriots do not win that game in Tampa if not for the work of their top four picks. (Rookie safety Craig Woodson, drafted in the fourth round, has also played nearly every single snap on defense this season.)
It may not be time for a front office victory lap, but a moment or two of satisfaction is within reason.
How about some more leftover thoughts from the Patriots’ 28-23 victory over the Buccaneers?
— Drake Maye’s end-zone interception is going to get a lot of attention. Rightfully so. It was awful, it was unnecessary, and it could have cost the Patriots a win that they otherwise deserved.
However … Maye made three plays that are sure to sustain his case to be the MVP of the league.
His work to escape pressure and deliver a strike while getting hit to convert a third-and-7 late in the third quarter was magic:
Another “Wow” play from Maye came one snap after he got freight-trained by the 347-pound Vita Vea. Maye shook off that hit and stood calmly in the pocket on the next snap, delivering an absolutely perfect deep ball to Mack Hollins.
Those plays technically didn’t help win the game, though. The third-quarter drive ended in a turnover on downs, and the Hollins bomb preceded the aforementioned end-zone interception. A real winning play, then, came before halftime, on a third-and-7 just outside of field-goal range.
The Bucs sent six, dropping Anthony Nelson into man coverage against DeMario Douglas. A mismatch.
Maye stood in against the rush, calmly waiting for Douglas to clear Nelson, and then delivered a pass with perfect touch to move the chains and then some on what would end up being a touchdown drive.
— Long story short: Drake Maye didn’t have his best day. It was still pretty dang good.
— I do not understand why Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye acted like the quarterback’s modified kneeldown before halftime was not on purpose. It was brilliant!
By “failing” to score on the QB sneak from the 1-yard line, the Patriots managed to score a touchdown to take a 14-10 lead with zero seconds left on the clock. Had Maye scored on the sneak, the Bucs would have had 1:40 to work with before halftime.
Perhaps Vrabel and Maye didn’t admit to the strategy because they scored that touchdown by the skin of their teeth …
Nevertheless, sacrificing one play at the goal line is well worth the risk when it eliminates an entire possession for the opponent.
— That being said, TreVeyon Henderson should have followed his instincts and gone down before scoring his game-sealing touchdown. Had he hit the deck anywhere in the field of play, Tampa Bay would have used its second timeout with about 1:32 left on the clock. Maye could have taken a knee before the third and final timeout was used, and the Patriots could have drained the clock all the way down to about 10 seconds before sending the field-goal unit onto the field to make it an eight-point lead.
That’s the logical play, but given that the Patriots got the ball at their own 30-yard line, there probably wasn’t anyone in the rookie’s ear reminding him not to score in the event that he hit a home run while running behind Khyiris Tonga on second-and-9.
— The worst offshoot of Henderson scoring instead of going down was that Stefon Diggs ended up getting truck-sticked while fielding a perfect onside kick:
Assuming Diggs shakes off that hit with no ill effect, it does add yet another element that he’s brought to this team. He’s been more of a leader than most anybody anticipated, and a selfless play like that will only get him more buy-in from his teammates and coaches.
— I intentionally left rookie kicker Andy Borregales out of the rookie discussion earlier, because kickers operate in a different box from the rest of them. Yet it’s worth pointing out that after a shaky start to his NFL career, Borregales is on a heater.
He’s now hit 27 consecutive PATs after missing two in Miami in Week 2. And though he didn’t attempt any field goals Sunday, he’s 12-for-12 on those since missing one in his debut against the Raiders.
You can debate whether any kicker is worth a draft pick, but Borregales has been a positive contributor to a team that’s 8-2. I’d say that justifies the pick.
— What kind of conversations would we be having if Rachaad White took this one to the house?
I know I’d be saying that in a league where lightly breathing on a quarterback often elicits a roughing the passer flag being thrown, we simply can’t allow quarterbacks to slip free from the grasp of FIVE defenders to make a last-gasp play. Can’t have it. Bad play by the men in stripes.
Surely some would make a case against the Patriots’ defense, or maybe it would be used as Exhibit A in Mayfield’s MVP case.
Fortunately for everybody except the Bucs, Jaylinn Hawkins’ heads-up play prevented us from having such conversations.
— The Buccaneers really need to reevaluate if they want to fire the cannons every single time they enter the red zone. Because it’s extremely dumb.
In the middle of the second quarter, Baker Mayfield threw a screen pass on third-and-11 from the 21-yard line. It gained three yards. That’s a bust. The Bucs had to settle for a field goal. That’s a disappointment.
But POW POW! Off went the cannons.
Dumb.
Later in the fourth, with the Bucs trailing by two scores and needing a series of miracles to win, Sterling Shepard caught a pass to convert a third-and-11 and get the ball to the 20-yard line.
BOOM BOOM BOOM went the cannons. Most of Tampa’s fans had already headed to the exits.
It’s silly.
(The Bucs did not explicitly ask me for my opinion on this matter. But they really should.)
— The Patriots remain dumbfounded defensively on their opening drives. Flabbergasted. Befuddled. Bewildered.
That issue manifested itself in the defense completely losing track of Emeka Egbuka, Tampa’s leading receiver, for an easy six.
Christian Gonzalez ran with Sterling Shepard in man coverage, and Carlton Davis mirrored that man coverage on the other side against Tez Johnson. Marcus Jones dropped into a zone and kept his eyes locked in on Mayfield, who likely couldn’t believe how open Egbuka was.
— Speaking of Tez Johnson, this was sweet:
Tez Johnson performs some acrobatics after scoring a touchdown against the Patriots. Photo: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
— Milton Williams is good. I don’t have a stat to accentuate that point, necessarily. But if you lock in on that guy dominating interior linemen, you get a show.
Other defensive notes:
Jack Gibbens led the team with 10 total tackles, and he had a nice pass breakup (that would have been an incredible interception if he had been able to make a diving snag).
Christian Gonzalez wasn’t perfect, but he and Craig Woodson combined to smash Cade Otton to force a drop on a critical third-and-3 in the fourth quarter. Gonzalez also closed on Sterling Shepard on a third-and-7 screen pass to Sterling Shepard to force a punt.
Undrafted rookie Elijah Ponder beat Tristan Wirfs to record his first career sack. A big moment for the Cal-Poly Mustangs.
K’Lavon Chaisson set a new career high in sacks last week and had another one this week. He’s now at 6.5 for the year (and should have had another half-sack when the officials let Mayfield slip out of a sure sack late).
— The biggest “concern,” such as it is, after a huge road win is that the Patriots don’t yet have that extra gear to really put decent teams away. (Carolina, Tennessee and Cleveland don’t really represent “decent” teams.)
A week ago, the Patriots led Atlanta 21-7 with a chance to double-score them to death. Instead, Maye fumbled, Atlanta scored before halftime, and it was a tooth-and-nail battle to the end.
This week, the Patriots went up 21-10 with Henderson’s 55-yard score, and a potential blowout was brewing after the New England defense forced a punt. But with two inside runs and a third-down incompletion, the Patriots played it conservatively and went three-and-out, inviting the Bucs back into the game with a 92-yard touchdown drive.
— The good news for the Patriots is they’re still pulling off the victories. Winning close games with late-game execution is a strength in and of itself. That’s good. But at a certain point, they’re going to want to make things a little bit easier for themselves.
And wouldn’t you know it, up next on the schedule? That would be the New York Jets. Despite the Jets’ victory on Sunday over the Browns, Thursday night should represent a golden opportunity for the Patriots to get back in the habit of winning comfortably before getting their first little break of the season.
— Not that anybody needs this spelled out for them, but the Patriots have eight wins, matching their combined wins from the past two seasons. Eight wins over 16 months vs. eight wins in 10 weeks. And they have seven more chances to improve upon that number this year.
This may still be a multi-year rebuild in terms of building a strong roster from one to 53. But the significant contributions from the rookies, the enormous Year 2 leap for Drake Maye, the massive improvement to the offensive line, and the on-the-fly rebuilding of the defense has this team way ahead of schedule. And wins like Sunday’s — on the road, against a reigning division champ with a 6-2 record — will rightly elevate expectations for this season.
Can they go out and win the dang Super Bowl? You know what, it’s probably not worth making a wager that they’ll win the dang Super Bowl. Dang Super Bowls are notoriously difficult to win.
But the beauty of sports can be found in embracing the unknown. The 8-2 New England Patriots are in the midst of writing a story that few, if any, saw coming. For the sake of the ride, it would be best to not try to put a ceiling on how far it can go.