One of the best things a rookie quarterback can have is a dependable tight end, and that's the role Hunter Henry is playing for Drake Maye.
One of the best offseason moves the New England Patriots made was re-signing Henry to a three-year contract. After taking Maye with the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Patriots needed to surround him with trustworthy pass-catchers on offense. They haven't done that -- at least not yet -- at the wide receiver position. But at tight end, Henry has given Maye a reliable target all over the field, especially in key third down and red-zone situations.
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Henry caught three passes for 41 yards and a touchdown in Maye's first career start versus the Houston Texans in Week 6. He tallied eight receptions for 92 yards on nine targets in last week's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
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Henry and Maye seem to have a pretty good chemistry already. There was one completion in the first quarter last week where Maye threw the pass before Henry had turned around in his route to see the ball. There's clearly a good level of trust that's been built between them.
"I think he's done a tremendous job. He's seeing things well," Henry told reporters at a press conference Wednesday. "He'll continue to see things well. It's my job to be at the right spot at the right time, trying to do that to the best of my ability. Sometimes coverages dictate certain things, but with his mobility and working with him on the scramble drill and things like that, he's doing a tremendous job."
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Building chemistry with Maye started in training camp, and even though the reps between them were sometimes limited in those practices, Henry has made a strong effort to get to know Maye off the field as well.
"You're not going to get as many reps on the field, maybe, but I think we've built a lot of chemistry off the field and just trying to get to know each other," Henry said.
"I always try to get to know all the quarterbacks, all the young guys. You try to build that chemistry off the field, and hopefully it translates a little bit on the field, too."
The Patriots play the Jets for the second and final time this season Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium. The Jets beat the Patriots rather convincingly with a 24-3 victory at MetLife Stadium in Week 3. However, Maye did not start that game, so there's reason to believe the Patriots offense will look a little better this time around.
"They got after us pretty good in the first game and set the tone," Henry said. "We gotta be ready to go from the jump. This is a really, really good football team that has a ton of talent. It's going to be a big challenge for us. I think we'll be ready to go. We just gotta start fast, like we did last week in a way, but then continue that throughout the game."
