Enough about Drake Maye for a minute.
Mike Vrabel, too.
The Patriots are 9-2 thanks to them, yes, but also because they’re healthy, squeezing the most out of their talent and receiving contributions from all over the roster.
So, here’s a thought on all 53 active Patriots players who have helped form a true Super Bowl contender.
QB Drake Maye
The Gillette Stadium crowd was right the other night against the Jets. Maye is the league’s MVP entering Week 12.
QB Joshua Dobbs
On Dobbs’ only completion this season, he evaded a strong Titans pass rush on third down and hit DeMario Douglas for a 12-yard gain that moved the chains. It also ALLOWED Drake Maye time to return from concussion protocol and sustained a scoring drive. Dobbs may not throw another pass this year, but he’s been an ideal backu; a cerebral, experienced veteran who stays ready at a moment’s notice.
QB Tommy DeVito
Get ready to hear a lot about DeVito next week ahead of the Pats’ Monday night kickoff against the Giants. That game will be a reunion for him and vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden, who was in New York last year and likely vouched for DeVito before the Patriots claimed him off waivers in late August.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson
Stevenson’s toe injury may prove to be a blessing if it helps keep him fresh down the stretch. He’s suffered from burnout and bad injury luck at the end of each of the last three seasons.
RB TreVeyon Henderson
Henderson’s long-awaited breakout is a credit to his persistence and the coaching staff taking its time with a young player who looked a bit overwhelmed in September and early October. The 23-year-old still isn’t the most efficient or patient runner, but he’s developing, and his explosive runs are well worth the meager gains in between. Think of a home-run hitter who has a low batting average but when he connects gets his team on the board.
RB Terrell Jennings
Jennings is one of the best stories on the team, a young, powerful runner who endured homelessness as a child growing up in the Jacksonville area, then played college ball at Florida A&M, an FCS school, later made the Patriots’ practice squad coming out of training camp and earned a promotion to the active roster.
FB Jack Westover
The Patriots still aren’t bowling over defenses like you would hope when they play with a fullback, but Westover is among their most improved offensive players. He recently helped key wins over the Browns and Falcons.
WR Stefon Diggs
Diggs is tracking for the seventh 1,000-yard season of his career, an incredible feat coming off an ACL tear at 31. But set aside the stats.
This quote from Josh McDaniels about Diggs’ impact speaks loudest: “I think he’s been a really good guy for our young players to watch work, watch during the course of the day, how he prepares. And then certainly, obviously, his influence on our team. On the practice field. During the course of the game. There’s an energy and an intensity about him that never stops. I appreciate that as a coach because it’s a long season.”
WR Kayshon Boutte
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Boutte has matured more than any young player I’ve covered in New England. Kudos to him for what should finish as a career year thanks to an attitude adjustment.
WR Mack Hollins
Hollins’ 387 receiving yards are already more than he’s had in any other year of his career except one. That was 2022, when he caught a career-high 57 passes for 690 yards and four touchdowns in Las Vegas. His head coach? Josh McDaniels.
WR DeMario Douglas
Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas celebrates a first down during the second quarter of last Sunday’s victory over the Falcons in Foxboro. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Maybe the most well-liked player in the building. And let’s get more designed touches for him, please.
WR Kyle Williams
There’s no denying Williams’ speed or his lack of production (two catches on 10 targets since the opener). I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s a healthy scratch for a big upcoming game, regular season or playoffs.
WR Efton Chism III
A developmental, back-end-of-the-roster player whose best football is ahead of him. Any real contribution this year is gravy.
TE Hunter Henry
One of the steadiest performers and personalities in the locker room. And Henry might feast Sunday against a Bengals defense that ranks second-worst in the league at defending tight ends.
TE Austin Hooper
Without Hooper, the Patriots couldn’t play through traditional 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends), their second-most common personnel grouping this year. That forced McDaniels to deploy some rarely-used groups that featured six offensive linemen and four wide receivers. Hopefully those short-term wrinkles — which mostly worked — aren’t forgotten down the stretch.
TE CJ Dippre
Congrats to Dippre, an undrafted rookie, on being signed off the practice squad this week. He’s a better run-blocker than receiver.
LT Will Campbell
Campbell’s tape has been far from spotless, but the fact he’s supplying the Patriots with league-average play as a 21-year-old is a stunner. The history of rookie offensive linemen starting in the NFL — even top-5 picks like Campbell — is ugly.
LG Jared Wilson
Wilson is coming off the best game of his young career, a welcome sign for an offensive line that’s let Maye feel too much pressure the last few weeks. It’s also easy to forget Wilson, a college center, transitioned to a new position just months ago.
C Garrett Bradbury
An overlooked leader on offense, Bradbury is a smart, affable veteran. In a major upset, he’s also allowed the fewest pressures of any starting offensive lineman.
RG Mike Onwenu
Foxboro, MA – Mike Onwenu and Mike Vrabel run off the field after the win at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Were it not for the four plays he sat out in garbage time of the Tennessee win, Onwenu would join Bradbury as the only Patriots player to take 100% of their offensive snaps.
RT Morgan Moses
The poster child (man?) for the Patriots’ new emphasis on player rest during the week and over the summer in training camp. Moses has yet to miss a game, after missing three in each of the past two years.
OT Vederian Lowe
Lowe has as many career catches as 2024 fourth-round pick Javon Baker, and if he ever snags another touchdown, he’ll match Ja’Lynn Polk career touchdowns as a Patriot.
G/C Ben Brown
Fun fact: Brown can play the trombone. He once played a high school game, then remained on the field in uniform at halftime so he could perform with the marching band.
OT Marcus Bryant
Ideally, Bryant never plays this season — meaning Campbell and Moses stay healthy — then vies for the Patriots’ swing tackle job again next year.
OL Caedan Wallace
A professional healthy scratch with zero game appearances, Wallace continues to hold his roster spot after sitting squarely on the bubble all summer.
OLB Harold Landry
Landry is tough, tireless and a high-character player. But the bye week can’t come soon enough for him, as he deals with an injury and plays 78% of all defensive snaps; fourth-highest on the team. Landry had zero pressures last week against the Jets.
OLB K’Lavon Chaisson
No free-agent signing has given the Patriots more bang for their buck than Chaisson, who inked a 1-year, $5 million deal last spring. He’s already pocketed a career-high 6.5 sacks and a few dozen pressures.
OLB Anfernee Jennings
Jennings told me he wasn’t worried about being dealt ahead of this month’s trade deadline, despite the fact the front office made it known for months that he was available. He has four pressures in eight games.
OLB Elijah Ponder
Two weeks ago, Ponder notched his first career sack against two-time All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs. Who could have seen that coming?
OLB Bradyn Swinson
The talented fifth-round pick should have a chance to showcase his talents soon in a rotational role. Vrabel noted earlier this week he’s already gotten stronger over the course of the season.
OLB Caleb Murphy
Since claiming him off waivers from the Chargers last month, the Pats have treated Murphy like a core special teamer. He’s taken just one defensive snap.
DL Christian Barmore
Time to shine. Barmore’s one sack doesn’t reflect the total pressure he’s generated this season, but the Patriots need him more than ever with Milton Williams out. He’s their only pass rusher who can win regularly on the interior.
DT Khyiris Tonga
Foxboro, MA – New England Patriots defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga chases down Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson during the fourth quarter of the game at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Tonga may be the happiest player in the Patriots’ locker room, and watching him play fullback gives me the feeling it seems like he walks with every day.
DT Cory Durden
Expect to see more of the 6-foot-4, 305-pounder in Williams’ absence. Durden has performed surprisingly well for a third-year player on his third team, but playing a higher volume of snaps is a different challenge than playing 10-15 plays per game.
DT Joshua Farmer
The fourth-round rookie has flashed and should return this week from an ankle injury that kept him out last week. Can he contribute in a more regular role?
DT Eric Gregory
It’s a revenge game this Sunday for the rookie and former Bengal who was well-liked in Cincinnati, but became a roster casualty shortly after cutdown day.
LB Robert Spillane
Few linebackers are stuffing the stat sheet quite like Spillane, between his near 100 tackles to two interceptions and a sack. He remains a better run defender than coverage player, but Spillane has played instinctive, winning football most of the year.
LB Christian Elliss
It’s been a roller-coaster year for Elliss, who was missing tackles right and left for most of September, then thrived during the upset at Buffalo and more recently is battling injury.
LB Jahlani Tavai
Tavai will miss Sunday’s game due to personal reasons. Here’s wishing all the best to him and his family.
LB Jack Gibbens
You know a nickname’s stuck when Vrabel refers to his veteran linebacker as “Dr. Gibby” in a post-game press confrence more than three years after bestowing the nickname when Gibbens was a studious rookie in Tennessee.
LB Marte Mapu
A coverage specialist in nickel and dime packages, Mapu is not locking down running backs and tight ends, but has often provided a better option than Gibbens and Elliss on passing downs.
CB Christian Gonzalez
Foxboro, MA – New England Patriots Christian Gonzalez chased down Cleveland Browns’ Quinshon Judkins during the second quarter at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Hard to believe the Patriots rank dead last at defending opposing No. 1 receivers by DVOA with Gonzalez now healthy for eight straight games. But, here we are. I expect that ranking to change, especially if the Pats play more press-man and aren’t victimized as often by opponents who exploit their switching rules against certain motions and bunch formations that pull Gonzalez off No. 1 receivers.
CB Carlton Davis
According to Pro Football Focus, Davis has allowed three touchdowns and nine catches in man-to-man coverage. He’s been victimized by a few perfect throws, but compare those stats to his one pass breakup and it’s been a slightly disappointing year for the high-priced corner.
CB Marcus Jones
Jones is one of 15 NFL players with a sack and two interceptions. Of those 15, two are teammates — Spillane and Jaylinn Hawkins — and no one has more pass deflections than Jones’ nine.
CB Alex Austin
Austin’s been a ghost since his brutal start to the season. His play offers another reminder not to put too much stock into training camp performance, which this summer indicated he was headed for a big season.
CB Charles Woods
A special teamer the Patriots added after cutdown day from Los Angeles, Woods has leapt Austin on the cornerback depth chart.
S Jaylinn Hawkins
A sneaky important free agent next spring. The Patriots would probably like to upgrade their starting talent at safety, but Hawkins’ toughness, consistency and professionalism have been paramount as Vrabel rebuilds his culture. He re-signed on a 1-year deal last spring after Eliot Wolf originally inked him to a free-agent deal in 2024, a rare win for Wolf that offseason.
S Craig Woodson
Credit to Woodson for being an Iron Man in his first NFL season. He’s been a staple of their secondary. His next step for Woodson is more playmaking. He has just three pass breakups all year.
S Dell Pettus
You know who the Patriots’ highest-graded defender is at Pro Football Focus? Yep, it’s Pettus, the Pats’ third safety who also ranks among their hardest hitters.
ST Brenden Schooler
Special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer shared this week that Schooler often hits a top speed of 21 MPH during games, roughly the same maximum speed of a black mamba snake and just a little slower than a sprinting African elephant.
K Andy Borregales
The impact his game-winner at Buffalo has had on the trajectory of this season can’t be understated. Even better, Borregales’ missed field goal last week against the Jets was his first since the season opener.
P Bryce Baringer
Baringer has boomed a punt longer than 70 yards in each of his first three NFL seasons. The man can kick.
LS Julian Ashby
Long snappers are like referees. The less you hear from them the better, and lately it’s been quiet for Ashby, who had two false start penalties in October.