Although the New England Patriots lost 14-13 to the Philadelphia Eagles, there was cause for celebration as rookie quarterback Drake Maye scored the first touchdown of his NFL career, earning him high praise from the team. In addition to Maye, the team is experiencing a youthful renaissance as it centers around the University of North Carolina playmaker, which also includes Patriots tight end Jaheim Bell.
Bell, another rookie, selected in the seventh round out of Florida State University, was instrumental in Maye scoring a touchdown for New England just before the end of the first half. As soon as Maye ran with the ball, he ran toward Bell, who impressed with his blocks. He even went so far as to say that he, along with others, was “the future” of the team, according to Mark Daniels of MassLive.
“I mean, shit, they drafted us all together. I just feel like we’re the future,” Bell said. “To be all involved in that touchdown together means a lot. That’s our draft class. It shows what the future is going to look like for us.”
In his final season with the Seminoles, Bell caught 39 passes for 503 yards and scored two touchdowns, as he spent just one season with the team and played the previous three seasons for South Carolina. The Patriots see Bell as a do-it-all tight end who can be involved in the offense while also making blocks. He described the play that set up Mayes’ touchdown as “very simple.”
Drake Maye is part of the Patriots youth movement
As for Mayes’ overall performance, in addition to his running game, he completed six of 11 attempts for 47 yards and is looking to improve his game. Including him and Bell, the Patriots used seven of their eight draft picks at the last event on offensive players, hoping that this will create an offense worth celebrating in the future, as most fell for Mayes’ point, a moment that was fulfilling for the rookie quarterback.
“It’s a great moment,” Maye said on Mass Live. “We spend a lot of time here at the rookie meetings. In the spring, we were on our own. It was definitely cool to have those guys out there… It was cool to be out there with some of the guys that are in the same situation and going through the same thing. It’s great times for us – a moment I’ll probably never forget.”
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It’s truly a new era for the Patriots, which began when the franchise parted ways with longtime head coach Bill Belichick and hired Jerod Mayo instead. He will lead the youth movement, and the 38-year-old even said that they “hope these guys can grow up and develop together.”
“It was great. It was great,” Mayo said. “Look, we were hoping that these guys could grow up together and develop together and we have a good core of guys going forward and that’s pretty much what we were aiming for.”
New England’s final preseason game is next Sunday against the Washington Commanders.
