The New England Patriots need to put some serious work into improving their wide receiver room this offseason, and while they’ve already added K.J. Osborn, that’s not enough.
Patriots de facto general manager should be looking to use one of their draft selection on the position at the end of the month, and they’re apparently already meeting with one wide receiver prospect before the draft.
According to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, New England is hosting Central Florida wideout Javon Baker for a pre-draft visit.
Baker, 22, spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Alabama, where he played with former Patriots quarterback Mac Jones in his freshman year. However, prior to the 2022 season, Baker transferred to UCF where he’d play his final two years. He was named First-team All-Big 12 in 2023.
In 46 career games across both programs, Baker recorded 117 receptions for 2,051 yards and 13 touchdowns.
At the combine, the 6-foot-1 wideout ran a 4.54-second 40-yard dash (1.58-second 10-yard split) and posted a 37-inch vertical jump and a 121-inch broad jump.
New England can’t go into the season with Kendrick Bourne (coming off of an ACL) and DeMario Douglas (a 2023 sixth-round pick out of Liberty) as the top two options at the position.
Drafting Baker probably wouldn’t fix that issue, but he’d be at least a competitive addition to the depth at the position who could turn into a starter with some time.
Author(s)
Mike Masala previously served as the Managing Editor of USA TODAY’s Dolphins Wire as well as a contributing writer at Patriots Wire. Follow on Twitter/X: @Mike_Masala
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