Patriots Veteran Gets Brutally Honest on Team's WRs

The New England Patriots probably had the worst receiving corps in football this past season, so they will definitely need to address the position in the coming months.

So, what exactly was the problem for the Patriots' receivers in 2024?

New England drafted a couple of wide outs in Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker last April, but neither of them panned out in Year 1. The Pats also clearly did not have a legitimate top-tier talent on the roster.

But cornerback Jonathan Jones feels that the issue runs deeper than that.

“I think the talent is there,” Jones said on 98.5 The Sports Hub. “It’s just the mental aspect of it, you know, coming into a place like New England — it’s a tough place to come into. I was a guy who didn’t have expectations, so it was a little bit easier for me, but I’ve seen guys come in who were really high draft picks and couldn’t deal with the expectations that came from it."

Polk, for example, was an early second-round pick and entered his rookie campaign with high expectations, but he managed just 12 catches for 87 yards and a couple of touchdowns last season.

Meanwhile, Baker logged just one grab.

“They just have to be able to match the physical with the mental," added Jones. "They have the attributes to go out there and be good players. I think they’ll take this offseason to improve on that, block out all the noise, and show up and be a good football player.”

Jones himself is slated to hit free agency this offseason, but there seems to be a chance that the veteran — who has spent his entire nine-year career with the Patriots — could actually return to New England in 2025.

Either way, we'll see how the Pats rectify this major problem in March and beyond.