The New England Patriots are back in the AFC Championship game for the first time since the Tom Brady era, due in large part to the play of MVP finalist Drake Maye. Maye’s newfound connection with his ever-improving core of wide receivers has been a huge reason for the uptick in the pass game this season.
That connection seems to be growing especially well between Maye and Kayshon Boutte, who made arguably the best catch of the playoffs so far against the Houston Texans in the Divisional round.
Maye sounded off on the growth of Boutte in his third season during his press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
“What a catch, I mean what a catch,” Maye said. “Time and time again, he’s made big time catches and he deserves more chances. I’m looking forward to playing with him every time I go out there. He’s made some great catches on some deep balls, intermediate routes.”
Maye Elevating Patriots Receivers
One of the most telling signs on how impactful a quarterback is to his team is when receivers’ games elevate with that QB on the field. That’s been the case with not only Boutte, but also Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins, and Kyle Williams.
What’s interesting is that none of these guys, at least statistically, are having career years. But on any given day, any of these guys can look like true WR1’s, even though none outside of Diggs really are.
There are two factors that have made this passing attack so dangerous. The first factor is on the coaching front; Josh McDaniels seems to draw up schemes for each game that gives one guy a much higher volume of targets than he normally gets. This throws opposing defenses off, because they don’t know who to put their top cornerback on.
The second factor has been Maye’s ability to throw the deep ball effectively and consistently. The reason the receivers have fewer catches than other years in their career, but more yards and touchdowns is Maye finding home run plays so often. He’s proven to be one of the best deep ball passers in the NFL this season, and he’s utilizing the variety of receivers to his advantage, because any of them can get open behind opposing teams’ secondaries.
Did Maye Hint at a Big Role For Boutte on Sunday?
Maye’s quote may lead people to believe he’s going to force the ball to Boutte this weekend after his phenomenal game against Houston. This is not the case.
Is it possible Boutte racks up seven catches for 120 yards and a couple of touchdows? Absolutely. But Maye’s praise of Boutte is merely his way of giving flowers to a guy that’s been relatively unnoticed this season. Like I said before, any of the receivers may have a massive game or one catch on any given day.
It comes down to Maye’s much improved ability to read defenses and find the weak spots. If Boutte happens to be the guy finding soft spots in coverage on Sunday, great. If it’s someone else, that’s great too.
There are no egos on the Patriots offense, just a trust in Drake Maye, Josh McDaniels, and Mike Vrabel, and a willingness to do what it takes to win.
Patriots QB Drake Maye Makes Kayshon Boutte Plea Before AFC Championship Game