Even with a glaring void at the receiver position, the Patriots weren’t diving head-first into the premier pool of playmakers this offseason.
When reflecting on New England’s free agency moves on offense in a new column for NBC Sports Boston, NFL insider Tom E. Curran explained how the team sought players “they felt would be good ‘culture’ fits” in first-year coach Mike Vrabel’s rebuild after a putrid 3-14 campaign, and why renowned wideouts such as DK Metcalf and Davante Adams were left on the board.
“The Patriots were exceedingly wary of the negative impact a demanding veteran wideout could have on [second-year quarterback Drake] Maye,” Curran wrote. “As a result, they weren’t in the game on talented guys like DK Metcalf and Davante Adams.”
Enter Mack Hollins, whom the Patriots signed away from the rival Bills on a two-year contract.
“He’s quirky but smart and can hopefully have a positive impact on a young room that is – collectively – on thin ice after 2024’s miserable performance,” Curran wrote.
In his lone season in Buffalo, the 31-year-old Hollins caught a career-high five touchdowns.
Dual-threat Travis Hunter could be an immediate answer at the receiver position should Colorado’s hybrid star be available at No. 4 in next month’s draft, Curran also noted.
As the Patriots re-tooled their offense with a familiar face — Josh McDaniels was re-hired in January for his third stint as the team’s offensive coordinator — the Steelers and Rams acted swiftly in acquiring Metcalf and Adams, respectively.
Days after requesting a trade out of Seattle, where he spent the first six seasons of his NFL career, the 27-year-old Metcalf was shipped to Pittsburgh and received a new five-year, $150 million deal.
The move followed reports that Metcalf had been eyeing a warm-weather city, a notion his camp pushed back on.
He posted 992 yards and five touchdowns last season.
Meanwhile, the Rams gifted quarterback Matthew Stafford a shiny new toy in the six-time Pro Bowler Adams, who agreed to a two-year, $46 million deal after a lost season with the Jets.
Adams recorded 854 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games with Gang Green.
The Patriots are looking to see how Maye can leap further in year two.
The 2024 first-round pick completed 66.6 percent of his pᴀsses in 13 games and threw 15 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. He also rushed for two scores.
Vrabel, a former Patriots linebacker, returned to New England in January after the firing of Jerod Mayo at the conclusion of the regular season.
