Following a lackluster campaign, the New England Patriots want to come back stronger this year. 2022 was a difficult year for the offense and especially for Mac Jones, who almost lost his job to Bailey Zappe.
The team made significant changes this offseason, though. Bill O’Brien returned to Foxborough as offensive coordinator and Bill Belichick added weapons to the unit, but he may not be done yet.
DeAndre Hopkins is still out there after being released by the Cardinals, so the Patriots can bring extra help for Jones. When asked about it, the Alabama product made it clear he would like to throw passes to D-Hop.
Mac Jones admits he’d like Patriots to sign DeAndre Hopkins
“I think that’s definitely a hypothetical, but I think DeAndre is a great player,” Jones said, via ProFootballTalk. “You watch his film from college all the way through the NFL, he’s done a great job. So obviously, we’d love to have him.“
But don’t take him wrong, Jones also gave the current WR room their flowers. Landing Hopkins would give the offense a huge boost, but if not, the third-year quarterback has full confidence in his current teammates.
“We just know that we want to win and I know that all the guys feel the same way. But I’ve been really pleased with the playmakers that we have on our team,” he added. “We’ve come out here and really bought into the system. That’ll really show in training camp, preseason and stuff. It’s sometimes hard to show that out here [during the offseason program].
“But I’ve been really pleased with the tight ends, running backs, and all the receivers, the young guys the old guys like DP [DeVante Parker] and everybody. So, we have a good group. And definitely feel like we just need to keep growing together. And whoever is in that room, we’re just going to try to dominate together.”
The Patriots signed former Chiefs wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster after parting with Jakobi Meyers, in addition to the arrival of former Dolphins tight end Mike Gesicki. Hopkins, however, would definitely be an upgrade to their offense.
