After the New England Patriots chose Javon Baker in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the wide receiver gave a scouting report on himself: “I make people in wheelchairs stand up.”
So far there have been no reports of miracles at the New England training camp, and Baker hasn’t been satisfied with his performance so far.
“I feel like I performed OK,” Baker said. “Not to my standard, but I feel like I performed OK.”
Baker described the difference between his play and his “standard” as a “huge gap.”
“I ain’t really performing how I want to perform,” Baker said on Monday. “But at the end of the day, I got to stack days.”
That’s what he was doing on Tuesday, when Baker grabbed a pass down the sideline after getting by Philadelphia cornerback Avonte Maddox in seven-on-seven drills during a joint practice with the Eagles.
“I think he’s made some of those plays in camp,” Patriots quarterback Drake Maye said after practice. “I think you see him go up whether it’s one-on-ones, seven-on-sevens -- made a play today on the sideline in seven-on-sevens. Nice catch. Other than that, he’s always in my ear saying, ‘Hey, throw it up, throw it to me.’ Him and (Ja’Lynn Polk) love having the ball in their hands, and you love that in a receiver.”
After New England produced the fewest points in the AFC last season, the Patriots used their first five draft picks this year on offensive players, starting with North Carolina’s Maye at No. 3 and Polk, a Washington wide receiver, at No. 37. Between Polk and Baker, New England added offensive linemen Caedan Wallace of Penn State and Layden Robinson of Texas A&M.
“Me and Drake got a lot to learn,” Baker said, “and we just got to keep stacking days, me and Drake -- just the whole team, honestly. We got to keep stacking days, so we’ll be all right.”
The Patriots picked Baker from UCF, but he played two seasons at Alabama before two seasons at Central Florida.
Baker played at Alabama in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, when he had nine receptions for 116 yards and one touchdown. Baker’s TD was the first touchdown pass of current Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe’s career – a 24-yarder during Alabama’s 63-14 victory over Southern Miss on Sept. 25, 2021.
Playing for former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn at UCF, Baker had 108 receptions for 1,935 yards and 12 touchdowns in the past two seasons.
New England’s first depth chart of the preseason showed the Patriots’ top two returning wide receivers, DeMario Douglas and Kendrick Bourne, as the starters, with Baker listed on the fourth-team offense.
In New England’s preseason opener last week, Baker played 38 offensive snaps (the third-most on the team) and had two receptions for 11 yards on four targets.
