Bryce Young was dealt a poor hand in 2023. There were far too many cooks in the kitchen trying to make the perfect quarterback three-course meal that, instead, they ended up with a Filet-o-Fish from McDonalds that was sitting in a fridge for three days.
Dave Canales is the new man in charge in Carolina, and his resume speaks for itself. He was the quarterbacks coach in Seattle during Geno Smith’s 30-touchdown campaign in 2022, and he was Baker Mayfield’s offensive coordinator last season when he threw for over 4,000 yards, 28 touchdowns, and led the Buccaneers to the divisional round of the playoffs. With him being the lone voice in Bryce Young’s ear, combined with the additions of Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette, this should be a strong bounceback season for the former No. 1 overall pick.
The rookie out of Oregon is likely to get a lot of touches in a thin Bucs’ backfield. Outside of Rachaad White, there isn’t another truly proven back that will get a lot of attention and touches. The former Duck ran for just under 1,200 yards on over six yards per carry with 11 touchdowns last season, and also caught 56 passes out of the backfield.
We are going to see a whole new-look New England Patriots team in 2024. Alex Van Pelt will bring a lot to the offense. Expect a lot of immersive run-game installments, some gun-run RPO type action, and a good amount of play action (watch the Browns in the last month with Joe Flacco). Of all quarterbacks with at least 10 pass attempts of 20+ air yards off play action, Flacco was second in on-target percentage, per Sports Info Solutions. Expect a lot of those same tactics to be used with Drake Maye, whose biggest strength is the ability to launch the football- enter Polk.
He’ll get his deep looks, but he’ll also be the more underneath and intermediate target of the two rookies on this roster. I really like Drake Maye, and I foresee him and Polk forming a bond early on and growing together throughout the season. Rome Odunze was the Washington receiver with the most buzz this draft season, but keep an eye on this Patriots offense and these dynamic rookies that make it up.
