The Patriots may need to get creative if Mack Hollins can’t go Sunday against the Raiders.
Hollins missed his second straight practice Thursday because of a calf injury, and with the veteran trending toward sitting out the home game against Las Vegas, New England’s offense could be missing one of its most useful pieces. Hollins has been more than a receiver for the Patriots. His blocking has made him a key part of what they do, especially when the offense leans on heavier looks.
That leaves Drake Maye with a different supporting cast around him. A.J.
Brown still can’t be activated off injured reserve, so the Patriots would be asking Romeo Doubs, Hunter Henry, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III to shoulder more of the load. That group helped spark the second half of last week’s road win over the Bills, but this week could call for a different answer.
One possible solution is rookie tight end Eli Raridon.
The third-round pick logged a season-high 44 snaps against Buffalo, and at 6-foot-7 he gives New England a rare body type for the job Hollins has been doing. The Patriots don’t have another wideout who really matches Hollins’ mix of size, blocking and sneaky production in the passing game.
When New England uses one wide receiver in heavier personnel, Hollins has been the go-to option. According to Pro Football Focus, he’s even been the team’s most efficient run blocker, including over the offensive linemen.
Raridon looks like the closest thing on the roster to that kind of hybrid role. He lined up wide on five of his 23 pass snaps against the Bills, per PFF, which was his highest outside usage rate of the year. That kind of usage could grow if Josh McDaniels decides to tap into the rookie’s versatility again.
Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal said on 98.5 The Sports Hub on Tuesday that he wants to see more of him.
“I think that Eli Raridon needs to be used a lot more,” Bedard said on 98.5 The Sports Hub on Tuesday. “And I do think - I wouldn’t mind seeing him getting some of Mack Hollins’ snaps at receiver, because they’re both big bodies, not the fastest guys, but I think Raridon can do some of what Hollins did.”
Raridon has already made a little noise with the chances he’s gotten. He has turned four targets into three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown, averaging 14.7 yards per catch. That puts him on the same receiving-yard total as Kyle Williams.
He’s also dealing with a thigh injury, but he’s off the injury report this week. That matters with Hollins trending the wrong way.
Chism should still have a role as a blocker in multi-wide sets, but if the Patriots go bigger against Maxx Crosby and the Raiders, Raridon could be the name that ends up mattering most.
In Other News...
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Efton Chism has gone from an afterthought to a name Patriots fans are starting to track a lot more closely. The second-year slot receiver has shown enough in recent weeks to get noticed, including a memorable catch in Week 4, and his timing makes the interest feel even more relevant with injuries thinning out the receiver room. Around New England, that has naturally brought more attention to what kind of role he might be able to carve out in the offense.
Patriots insider Tom E. Curran has been part of that conversation, weighing Chisms style and how it might fit if the team needs another dependable option inside. Chism has already invited the easy comparisons, too, with some seeing shades of Julian Edelman and noting his friendly relationship with the former Patriots star. The bigger question now is whether what Chism has flashed can keep translating once the workload and the expectations both start to rise. [Read more 🡒]
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What she described next made the loss even harder to absorb, especially for their children and their 11-year-old son Cash. Linsey said the emotional toll has been overwhelming as the family tries to navigate grief in the open, with the story of Jordan Deveys death now carrying a deeply personal dimension that reaches far beyond football and into the private pain left behind. [Read more 🡒]
Drake Maye Faces A Bigger Test As Patriots Hope Momentum Is Real
Drake Maye has already gone through the kind of early-season adjustment every young quarterback eventually faces, with opponents building a better scouting file and forcing him to work through it. After a challenging start, he showed clear progress against the Bills, and now the Patriots are trying to figure out whether that performance was the beginning of something real or just one sharp afternoon in an uneven stretch.
The next chance to answer that comes against a Raiders defense preparing with full respect for what Maye can do. If he keeps building on the signs he showed last week, New England could start turning recent momentum into a genuine winning streak, which is exactly the sort of development this team has been waiting to see from its quarterback. [Read more 🡒]