Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots Patriots won their second preseason on Saturday, beating the Vikings 20-12 at Minnesota’s U.S. Bank Stadium. Even though most of the Vikings’ starters did not see the field after a competitive set of joint practices earlier in the week, a significant portion of the Patriots’ top players on both sides of the ball got a handful of snaps in.
As a result, there were quite a few lessons to learn from the game. Here are a few that caught our eye.
…you shouldn’t sleep on Mack Hollins: There has been a lot of discussion about Mack Hollins this week, and whether or not he would be deserving a spot on the roster. On Saturday, Hollins answered those concerns by showing his importance to the team: playing six snaps — all of them as a perimeter target with the top offense — he caught three passes for 38 yards from Drake Maye.
The offseason pickup made a nice catch on a high pass over the middle, and made another one on the sideline after Maye couldn’t find anyone open. Devin McCourty was talking on the broadcast about his importance to the young guys in the receiving room as well. All of this adds up to Hollins being a valuable piece of the Patriots’ offensive puzzle this year.
He might not end up putting eye-opening numbers, but he is going to be a reliable target for Drake Maye and a culture-setter in the locker room.
…TreVeyon Henderson should be put in bubble wrap: The Patriots started their preseason off with a bang when Henderson brought the opening kickoff back for a touchdown last week against the Washington Commanders. He has shown his speed before, but he showed his toughness on Saturday, with a fantastic, 8-yard touchdown run.
He may not be an every-down back yet, but it’s clear that he’s going to have a big impact on the Patriots offense. Honestly, I would put him in bubble wrap for the rest of the preseason. We’ve seen enough.
…Drake Maye doesn’t need to light the world on fire: Drake Maye started the game throwing the ball a little high. It didn’t hurt him on a throw over the middle to Mack Hollins, but it nearly resulted in an interception on a miss to DeMario Douglas (a player with a catch radius that is virtually nonexistent). Maye settled down after that and made some nice throws, the best completion being the aforementioned sideline throw to Hollins after scrambling when no one was open.
His best throw overall, however, might have been incomplete: he put the ball perfectly between a few defenders, but TreVeyon Henderson was unable to come up with what would have been a sensational one-handed catch. In total, he ended his day going 4-for-7 for 46 yards.
We may have seen the last of Maye this preseason. I think he’s primed for a big season after his performance in camp — even...
