Javon Baker spoke highly after the New England Patriots selected the wide receiver in the fourth round of this year's NFL Draft, saying he felt there weren't 10 better receivers than him, not just in the NFL but in the entire country.
However, Baker hasn't exactly backed up those rumors with his play on the field.
Indeed, after two preseason games and multiple training camp practices, Baker's reputation is looking bad. The 22-year-old struggled with dropping balls this preseason and was perfect on a deep pass from Drake Maye in last week's exhibition game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
But that wasn't the only issue NESN's George Bareczy had with Baker, which he discussed on Thursday's episode of “Boston Joins the Chat.”
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“He got beat up hard at the line of scrimmage right after the snap and got thrown off his route,” Bareczy said. “…That's a glimpse of his struggles. He's a fourth-round pick. This guy was going to be the No. 3 wide receiver at best this season. So he's going to start as the No. 4 or No. 5 wide receiver. That's not too bad.”
“It's a reminder about the situation supporting a young quarterback, especially a rookie quarterback. The wide receiver room situation remains poor and Javon Baker gives us a glimpse of why.”
Baker's big-play potential would help a lackluster Patriots offense, but the UCF product must get on the field first, projected to finish behind Demario Douglas, Tyquan Thornton, KJ Osborne and fellow rookie Jalyn Polk on the depth chart.
That would put Baker in competition with Jalen Reagor for New England's fifth wide receiver spot, and the return of Kendrick Bourne could put even more pressure on Baker's already limited regular-season playing time.
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Full episodes of “Boston Has Entered The Chat” are available on YouTube and Spotify.
