Forgotten Patriots WR Stacking ‘Highlight-Reel Catches’ at Training Camp

They signed All-Pro Stefon Diggs to help expand their passing game, but the New England Patriots wouldn’t say no to another legitimate big-play target, especially one who has been stacking “highlight-reel catches” during training camp.

A series of spectacular grabs have served as a reminder of forgotten wideout Javon Baker’s potential upside. The fourth-round pick from the 2024 NFL draft barely made a dent as a rookie, but Baker is trying to change the narrative this year.

He’s produced “as many highlight-reel catches in camp as any Pats receiver,” according to Patriots.com Staff Writer Evan Lazar. The latter described how Baker “blew past the safety level to catch a deep bomb from Maye in 7-on-7s and climbed the ladder to high-point a red-zone fade in full team drills over the last week.”

Moments like those underscore Baker’s niche talent in this receiver corps. Particularly, as Lazar put it, “Baker’s build-up speed to pull away from defenders on vertical routes is legit. The name of the game for Baker is consistency. The high-end flashes are there.”

Of course, the Pats have been here before. Specifically, when Baker was one of the darlings of last year’s training camp, even meriting a lofty comparison to a franchise great.

Unfortunately, Baker never came close to fulfilling that promise for a variety of reasons, but he remains an intriguing physical specimen with qualities Patriots quarterback Drake Maye needs.

Javon Baker Still Has Value for Patriots

Maye still requires a sudden-strike weapon, a true deep threat who can maximize the second-year signal-caller’s arm talent. Baker fits the bill, provided he can iron out the inconsistencies in technique and effort that blighted his development last season.

Those issues undermine the natural acceleration and body control that can make Baker a mismatch, both running in straight lines and horizontally. He showed off the latter when snatching this touchdown from Maye at camp, highlighted by ABC6 reporter Ian Steele.

This is the kind of speed, sharp cut and strong hands the Patriots have been waiting to see from Baker in moments that matter. The problem has been trusting him to be mature enough, both on and off the field, to deliver big plays on a regular basis.

Baker earned the ire of new head coach Mike Vrabel during OTAs for not being smart on the field. The receiver had been guilty of the same issue at his first camp.

A rant on Instagram Live directed at a police officer who’d issued Baker with a ticket at Logan Airport last September, according to Pro Football Network’s Dakota Randall, was also part of concerns the previous Patriots staff had about the player.

Vrabel and his staff must see the right attitude to go along with the highlights on the practice field, before they expand Baker’s reps. Especially since they have other credible deep threats vying for targets.

Patriots Not Short of Potential Deep Threats

They haven’t been able to successfully integrate a field-stretcher into their passing game, but it hasn’t been for a lack of options. One of the best is holdover Kayshon Boutte, who “is the current leader to play that outside role, with Maye connecting with Boutte in the back of the end zone for a nice touchdown in low-red zone work on Tuesday,” according to Lazar.

Boutte built some decent chemistry with Maye last season, but as Lazar pointed out, this year’s arrival in free agency, Mack Hollins, is now available and involved. Hollins won’t take the top off defenses, but rookie Kyle Williams can.

The third-round pick in this year’s draft “has stacked defenders twice on go balls for touchdowns in padded practices, one from the high red zone and another ~40-yard bomb from Maye,” per Lazar, who believes “Williams’ speed and release to separate over the top give him clear advantages on the outside.”

Those things showed up on this deep shot reeled in by No. 18 in the corner of the end zone.

Williams and Boutte can complement Diggs as legitimate burners over the top and on the perimeter. They will help Maye avoid a familiar problem, while slot receiver DeMario Douglas and tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper can provide the gifted QB1 with outlets underneath.

It means a fringe receiver like Baker can’t let up stacking impressive moments at camp and during the preseason if he’s going to lock in a roster spot.