The Patriots head to Jacksonville this week still trying to figure out what exactly they are. At 1-1, they’ve got Drake Maye fighting to match last season’s standard, Christian Gonzalez playing like he wants hardware, and a roster that’s still sorting through injury issues while chasing a clearer 2026 identity.
Sunday’s trip to face Trevor Lawrence and the 1-1 Jaguars should sharpen that picture a little. Jacksonville is coming off a messy 20-13 loss to the Broncos in Denver, and the Patriots will get a better sense of where they stand against a team that already has some obvious problems up front.
One of the most intriguing names to watch is Gabe Jacas, who has gone from late-arriving rookie to one of the Patriots’ more promising young edge players in a hurry. Because of an injury/contract situation that remains somewhat murky, Jacas was the last player from the Patriots’ 2026 draft class to sign his rookie contract, finally coming to terms in late July. He barely played in the preseason - just 81 snaps - and looked lost in the final preseason game, a loss to the Browns in late August in which he got deked into a parallel universe by quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
That feels like a different player now. Mike Vrabel and the Patriots’ defensive staff have pushed Jacas through an accelerated learning curve out of necessity, and he’s responded.
In the opener against the Seahawks, he played 19 snaps, sacked Drew Lock and made three tackles. Against the Steelers, his workload jumped to 49 snaps, and he added three more tackles, spent plenty of time in Aaron Rodgers’s face and picked off a pass after it bounced off Steelers receiver Germie Bernard.
The Jaguars’ offensive line had a rough day in Denver, where Lawrence was hit seven times and sacked twice. Jacksonville was up against Nik Bonitto and Zach Allen there, and the Patriots don’t bring that same pass-rushing punch. But if Jacas and second-year edge Elijah Ponder can produce against the Jaguars the way they did against the Steelers, Lawrence may be the one doing the postgame praising this time.
Travis Hunter is another player worth keeping an eye on, even if the early returns haven’t matched the hype. Jaguars fans, according to research this week, have already grown impatient with the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after his Heisman Trophy-winning season at Colorado.
Jacksonville drafted him expecting a true two-way weapon at receiver and cornerback, but he hasn’t settled in as a reliable option on either side yet. Through two games, he’s played 58 percent of the defensive snaps and just 10 percent of the offensive snaps, with one catch for 8 yards this season.
He’s also still just playing the 10th game of his career Sunday after a knee injury shortened his rookie year.
Jaguars coach Liam Coen has said Hunter will be used more on offense this week, but Parker Washington still looks like Lawrence’s preferred target. Even so, Hunter is the more fascinating name here, and ignoring him would be a mistake.
Then there’s Rhamondre Stevenson, who is trying to stay out of the Stevan Ridley Habitual Fumbler’s Doghouse after losing the ball on the Patriots’ first possession against the Steelers. Stevenson did get back into the game and finished with back-to-back runs of 24 and 9 yards in the second half.
He needs 37 yards Sunday to pass Curtis Martin - who had 3,799 yards in three seasons before Bill Parcells sent him to the Jets - on the Patriots’ all-time rushing list. That milestone should be there if he can avoid another early fumble.
There’s also the weekly grievance to chew on, and this one centers on the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s decision to cut its selection committee from 50 voters to 28. The move, which looks like a response to last year’s failure to get Bill Belichick in on the first ballot, could end up making things tougher for former Patriots down the line.
Each team market used to have a representative, but that’s gone now, and longtime voter Ron Borges was among those removed. That leaves New England without a voice in the room to advocate for players such as Rodney Harrison, Vince Wilfork, Matthew Slater, and other dynasty-era Patriots who deserve serious consideration.
On the bright side, at least Tony Dungy and Bill Polian lost their votes.
And for a quick flashback: Willie McGinest still owns the NFL’s all-time postseason sacks record with 16, and 4.5 of those came in the Patriots’ 28-3 wild-card win over the Jaguars in 2005. That game wound up being his second-to-last as a Patriot.
As for Sunday, the call here is that Maye snaps his streak of games with an inexplicable interception and helps Jacksonville take its first regular-season home loss since a Week 7 defeat to the Rams last October. Patriots 24, Jaguars 20.
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Patriots Linked To A Risky Buy-Low Swing At Star Receiver
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For the Patriots, the appeal is obvious: a buy-low swing on a player with top-end talent who could still benefit from a change of scenery and a more structured environment. The fit gets even more intriguing because Mike Vrabel, an Ohio State alumnus, could be viewed as the kind of coach who might help bring out the best in Harrison, though questions about his toughness are part of what makes this such a risky proposition. [Read more 🡒]