FOXBORO, Mass. — At the start, there was no one open, so Drake Maye drifted to his right, then escaped the pocket completely. About 50 yards from the field, receiver Tyquan Thornton saw Maye roll, adjust his route and beat his defender to the sideline.

Maye saw all of this. It was the patriots second journey of their surprising victory on the New York Jets on Sunday. Maye had already led a touchdown drive in the first. While on the run, the 22-year-old rookie quarterback threw the ball from his own 12-yard line, the kind of pass on Maye’s college tape that had impressed the Patriots.

The ball traveled 45 yards through the air and hit Thornton’s outstretched hands. Receiver was pushed by Jets defensive back Jalen Millsa former Patriot, but not so tough that he should have broken the collar. However, the ball fell to the ground. Incomplete. A drop – and a sign of things to come.

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Against the Jets, Patriots receivers dropped five of their 16 targets. In total, they only had seven receptions. The mistakes were so obvious that no one could hide them after the match.

“Personally, I just need to play better” Kendrick Bournesaid the elder statesman of the group. “I hated this game. I played so badly. Just look at yourself in the mirror. … As a group, we need to focus. It’s good to get a win, but there’s a lot of room for improvement.

Sunday’s game crystallized an unfortunate midseason reality: The Patriots have a wide receiver problem, both short and long term. And it is not certain that a solution is in sight.

Even though the Patriots have a lot of holes on their roster, you can at least squint and see progress at several positions. The offensive line is making marginal improvements. The secondary held strong even without the two starting safeties. The quarterback position is much better with Maye on the field.

Kudos are deserved for the Patriots offensive line.

Weeks 1-5: They allowed a pressure rate of 46 percent (32nd in the NFL).

Weeks 6-8: They allowed a pressure rate of 35 percent (15th in the NFL).

– Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) October 28, 2024

But wide receivers have been and will likely remain a huge problem.

In the short term, they cost the Patriots chances to win games and hurt Maye’s development. Kayshon Boutte helped the Patriots pull off an upset Sunday with his 34-yard sliding catch on the final drive, but that was only after dropping two previous passes. A fall often means an early end to a practice, which could be discouraging for a young quarterback. It would be frustrating to make an incredible pass, like the one to Thornton, only to have it end in failure.

Long term, this is a problem because the Patriots’ primary directive this season is to identify players who will be central to their schemes. Is there any Which New England receivers do you feel better about now than three months ago? (Maybe just Boutte.) And are you convinced that any of them can be a No. 1 or 2 (hell, even No. 3) option for Maye in two years? (No.)

Then, just as troubling, there is the dilemma of finding a solution.

The Patriots’ new front office made landing a veteran receiver its top priority heading into the season, but the top two options (Calvin Ridley And Brandon Aiyuk) showed no interest in coming to New England, regardless of the price the Pats would have paid. Maybe it will change and Higgins T-shirt may be convinced this spring, but that’s not a good harbinger of their chances.

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If they can’t sign or trade for a high-end wide receiver, they’ll need to draft and develop one. The Patriots are they will likely have a high draft pick to select a wide receiver if they want. But little about this franchise lately suggests they’ll pick the right guy. And nothing in the current receiving corps indicates that New England will be able to properly develop this player.

In this year’s draft, the Patriots won WashingtonIt is Ja’Lynn Polk in the second round and Javon Boulanger from UCF in the fourth. Polk ranks 19th among rookie receivers with just 78 receiving yards. Highly drafted wide receivers, if they want to become successful professionals, tend to quickly translate their talent into NFL production. Ten wide receivers were drafted among the first 50 picks last April. Eight of them have recorded at least 200 yards this season. The only two who didn’t are Polk (pick #37) and 49ers first round Ricky Pearsallwho played in just two games after suffering a gunshot wound to the chest before the season. Pearsall has 59 yards in two games.

Meanwhile, Baker has yet to make a catch and has been healthy in five games.

These are the two receivers who are expected to play the most central role in this rebuild, but neither has offered much hope thus far, although coach Jerod Mayo has indicated we could see more of them soon. Baker after he returned a kick 17 yards Sunday, his first touch. in an NFL game.

“Obviously it was disappointing, but it wasn’t just him, it was the blocking up front,” Mayo said of the kick return. “Look, this guy is very explosive with the ball in his hands, and we have to, as coaches running a solutions-based business, find ways to get him the ball.”

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That’s not to say all is hopeless with these receivers, even if they rank near the bottom of the league. Demario Douglas has shown flashes of explosiveness after the catch, so he may be able to develop into a solid No. 3. Perhaps Polk puts that slow start behind him and returns from a concussion to pitch a second half of the season impressive. Maybe Baker will get some playing time this week against the Tennessee Titans and is developing into a much-needed deep threat for the Patriots (even though he, too, had to deal with college dropouts). Perhaps Boutte’s early Sunday retirements were just a setback and he continues to build on his big plays this season, gradually working his way up to the 2024 team’s first option.

The Patriots really need at least one of these events. But at the same time, Mayo said the difficulty catching the ball is not a “hands” issue.

“A lot of people say get on the Jugs machine,” Mayo said Monday in a radio interview on WEEI, referring to the machine that receivers use to work on the catch. “But at the same time, you don’t have a 250-pound linebacker attacking you. It depends on the concentration.

No position will have more of an impact on Maye’s development than wide receiver. The Patriots knew that when they tried unsuccessfully to improve their position this spring. Now, either this current group needs to show significant improvement or the front office will need to do a much better job this offseason drafting new players.

“They need to improve,” Mayo said. “I mean, those guys went out there and they were open sometimes. A receiver’s job is to get open and catch the ball, and if you’re really good, then run with it. So, they absolutely have to improve, and they understand that.

(Ja’Lynn Polk Photo: Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images)