It has been a while since the Patriots had a wide receiver who had some NFL swagger. There are two very good reasons for this. For one thing, swagger was frowned upon by former Pats coach Bill Belichick, not just from wide receivers but from pretty much any position. For another thing, in recent years, the Patriots have not had many receivers who were good enough to warrant some swagger.
No offense to Tyquan Thornton, but he has not done much to warrant a lot of smack-talk.
Enter UCF’s Javon Baker, who, in the days since he was picked in the fourth round by the Patriots, has already raised some eyebrows with bold statements of just how good he—and New England’s incoming rookie class—is.
For veteran linebacker Matthew Judon, a four-time Pro Bowler, having a first-year player like Baker running his mouth is not a problem. But Judon just wants to be sure he keeps it running when he shows up for camp. Speaking on former Patriots running back James White’s podcast, Judon said (via Boston.com):
“We know you can talk. We know you’re going to have us laughing. We know you can do it in front of the media. We’ve seen you do it in college. We want you to transfer it.
“Don’t do that for the public and the media and then come in here with your backpack on, having your head down.”
Patriots’ Matthew Judon: ‘Be That’
Judon cited one of Baker’s best quotes from his introductory press conference shortly after he was picked. In it, Baker said, “Bring your popcorn. I make people in wheelchairs stand up. Bring your popcorn.”
Judon found that funny, and wants to see Baker maintain that approach when summer training camp kicks in. There isn’t much use in a player who can talk a big game in April but is a wallflower in July.
“What is that, man? You just told people in a wheelchair to stand up. Come on, man. Be that, because if you can’t be comfortable at your job, it’s just going to get awkward and you’re going to stop liking the game,” Judon said.
Baker has shown he has talent. He began his career at Alabama, and won a national championship there in a limited role as a freshman. But he transferred to Central Florida for his final two seasons.
He broke through as a senior with 1,139 yards on, amazingly, 52 catches.
Baker was No. 2 in the nation with 21.9 yards per catch. He was a first-team All-Big 12 and led the conference in receiving yards, and went for 173 yards and a touchdown against Georgia Tech in the Gasparilla Bowl.
Javon Baker Could Be Ideal for Drake Maye
While Baker was not happy about falling to the fourth round in the draft, he may well have landed in an ideal spot with the Patriots, and could form an early bond with No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye.
Because Baker does not have breakaway speed, it’s important that he has a quarterback who has the gusto to throw through some coverage and trusts his receiver to come down with the ball. That’s Maye’s reputation.
With that in mind, Baker was tabbed one of the six NFL rookies who landed in a “perfect” situation in the draft by the analysis site The 33rd Team. As Ian Valentino wrote: “Baker, the team’s fourth-round pick, needs quarterbacks like Maye and veteran Jacoby Brissett to succeed. …
“The former UCF playmaker is extremely strong, physical and competitive but struggles to generate separation on routes, so gun-shy passers would be a bad match for his skill set. However, Maye, in particular, isn’t afraid of throwing into contested catch situations.”
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