FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Maye Effect: A simple truth in free agency is that a team offering the most money usually gets the player. It also doesn’t hurt to have a promising young quarterback.
That was a hard-to-miss theme from the initial Patriots’ 2026 free agent class, a group headlined by receiver Romeo Doubs, safety Kevin Byard III, guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones, fullback Reggie Gilliam and tight end Julian Hill.
Call it the Drake Maye Effect.
Byard, entering his 11th NFL season, summed it up after spending the last two seasons with the Chicago Bears and being part of Caleb Williams’ rise.
“An ascending quarterback; it’s one of the hardest things to get right in the NFL, and everybody is trying to do that. New England has it right with Drake Maye. I’m excited to be able to play with him,” Byard explained after officially signing his one-year, $9 million contract in New England on Thursday.
“I had basically two teams I wanted to play for this offseason. With the year we had in Chicago, that was going to be the first option. Once I saw that wasn’t going to work out, it was New England. … Drake Maye is a phenomenal player. I’ve heard nothing but great things about him from multiple people in the organization even before I got here.”
Maye, who finished as the runner-up for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player Award to Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, was present at the Patriots’ facility Thursday to greet many of the newest Patriots.
“When I walked in, I saw him for the first time and I was like, ‘Wow, he’s bigger than I expected,'” said Gilliam, the hard-charging fullback who spent the first six years of his career in Buffalo alongside quarterback Josh Allen. “[Drake] has a lot of the same qualities as Josh. I believe in him a ton and am anxious to see what he can do.”
Doubs, the former Packers receiver who signed a four-year contract worth up to $80 million, added that he’s already connected with Maye, whom he referred to as a “great young quarterback.”
Maye’s performance tailed off in the postseason, in part from facing some of the NFL’s top-rated defenses. The Patriots’ free agent approach highlighted one way they believed they could help him bounce back.
By targeting physical run-first players such as Gilliam and Hill and a former first-round pick on the offensive line in Vera-Tucker, their hope is that an improved running game leads to a more well-rounded offense that makes Maye more dangerous in the passing game. And they might not be done adding around Maye, with the possibility of trading for receiver A.J. Brown still in play.
Jones and Vera-Tucker shared even when things didn’t go right for Maye last season, they noticed he never wavered. Jones pointed out how his Ravens team led by 11 points in the fourth quarter of a late December game, only to see Maye and the Patriots storm back for a 28-24 win.
“I thought we were going to get in his head, but he turned everything around. That game showed he doesn’t get rattled,” said Jones, who had sacked Maye earlier in the game (and in a Week 7 contest while playing for the Titans).
Added Vera-Tucker: “I’m really excited, man. Obviously playing against him, I’ve seen what he can do. Besides being a great football player, I’ve heard he’s a great guy, too, able to connect with his teammates. You want to come in and protect a guy like that.”
2. Doubs’ desire: Doubs’ competitiveness made an early impression on executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf. Doubs had yet to sign his contract at the facility Thursday and already had an iPad in his hand, beginning to learn the playbook and formations, with Wolf joking the team needed to pull him away from it to make the deal official. Wolf cited “route variance” and outside/inside flexibility among the things the team likes in Doubs.
3. A.J. Brown trade: Wolf left the light on for the possibility of trading for Eagles receiver A.J. Brown, saying Thursday, “We’ll explore anything we think can help the team.”
Wolf added there wouldn’t be a time-based deadline to execute any hypothetical trade unless the team had devoted financial resources to other players in free agency that would have been needed to consummate a deal. That wouldn’t seem to be an issue with absorbing Brown’s contract, as the Patriots have the salary-cap space to do so.
4. AVT on Jets: Vera-Tucker confirmed that returning to the Jets, who had selected him in the first round of the 2021 draft, wasn’t on his radar this offseason.
“A fresh start was what I think I needed. When you have three accidents, it sucks …” he said, referencing torn triceps (both arms) and Achilles injuries. “But I really enjoyed my time the past five years. Nothing but respect for everybody in that building, and the fans. I do hope they win a lot of games, just not against us.”
Vera-Tucker said he expects to be fully cleared for the start of organized team activities and plans to be a full participant in the voluntary offseason program like he was with the Jets, which he views as a chance to “build a relationship with the guys and coaching staff.”
5. Fullbacks unite: Fun fact shared by Gilliam, the seven-year veteran, as he relayed that a group of about 30 present and past fullbacks across the NFL are on a group text chain.
It includes former Patriots fullback James Develin, who has become one of his friends in recent years through Develin’s work with the NFL Players Association. Develin, of course, was a key part of coordinator Josh McDaniels’ offense from 2012-2019 and now Gilliam is in line to fill a similar role.
6. Hill’s three-year deal: The Patriots surprised some around the NFL by signing Hill, who wasn’t tendered as a restricted free agent by the Dolphins, to a three-year deal worth up to $18 million. Wolf, the EVP of player personnel, shared that the Patriots view Hill’s toughness (along with Gilliam and Vera-Tucker) as potentially identity-setting for the offense. Hill has had modest pass-catching production in his first three seasons (33 catches, 288 yards, 0 TDs).
“He’s improved each year and we think there’s probably still some meat on the bone in the passing game as well for him. But certainly a physical, tough guy at the point of attack,” Wolf said.
7. Jones-Landry duo: Jones said he has already spoken with new teammate Harold Landry III, as the two project as the Patriots’ starting outside linebackers.
Turns out the link between them had already been established — Landry played for the Titans from 2018 to ’24, and when Jones was in Tennessee in 2025, teammates called him “Big Harold” because they thought he played similarly to Landry. Jones, who enters his eighth NFL season, has never been to the playoffs and said that is one of his primary motivations in 2026.
“I started off as a d-tackle, lost weight, and now I’m just a big-ass end … Toughness, play balls to the wall, I’m always looking to try to run through somebody’s face.” – OLB Dre’Mont Jones (listed at 281 but played at 265) pic.twitter.com/rgic09ff5f
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) March 13, 2026
8. Munford delay: With backup offensive tackle Vederian Lowe signing with the 49ers, and OT/jumbo TE Thayer Munford Jr., remaining an unrestricted free agent, the Patriots have a void on their depth chart behind starters Will Campbell and Morgan Moses.
There’s a possibility that 2025 seventh-round pick Marcus Bryant could fill it, but he’s still a developmental question mark. Munford’s return is also still possible, but that wouldn’t come until a bit down the road as a source said he’s recovering from surgery after playing through a knee injury.
9. Gibbens in Cards? Linebacker/special-teamer Jack Gibbens, who played a valuable backup role for the Patriots in 2025 but wasn’t tendered an offer as a restricted free agent, is scheduled to visit the Cardinals early this week, according to a league source.
The Patriots agreed with former Dolphins linebacker K.J. Britt on a one-year deal, and he’s a top candidate to fill Gibbens’ former role. One of the reasons Britt had appealed to the Dolphins last offseason was his football intelligence in terms of getting others lined up, which was a notable part of Gibbens’ value in New England.
10. Did You Know: Including the playoffs, 48 of Doubs’ 63 receptions resulted in a first down last season, the fifth-highest rate (76%) in the NFL among players with at least 90 targets. Only Davante Adams (86%), Rome Odunze (85%), Tetairoa McMillan (80%) and George Pickens (79%) were higher.
