The New England Patriots addressed their wide receiving corps early on in Day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft, bringing in UCF wide receiver Javon Baker with the 110th overall pick in the fourth round.
And shortly after being selected, Baker made it clear on his Instagram page that he felt a bit disrespected by falling so far in the draft.
In Baker, the Patriots will be getting a true home-run threat that their offense desperately needed in recent years. Baker had the second-highest yards-per-reception of any wide receiver in college football this past season of all players who had at least 30 receptions on the year.
Baker could have very well heard his name called on Day Two by a team in need of a promising wide receiver. And according to Baker, he very much should have gone far earlier.
“Took too ******* long,” said Baker on Instagram Live after being selected. “Y’all gotta pay. It’s over with, where is that liquor at man? You gotta pay, gotta pay. Took to mother ******* long, you gotta pay.”
It’s probably a good thing that legendary head coach Bill Belichick is no longer in town as the Patriots head coach. Because chances are, he probably wouldn’t love to hear his draft pick going on this kind of rant publicly on social media after being selected by the team.
New Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo may not love it either. But it does at least show that Baker has an extremely high belief in himself, which can certainly be a positive.
Regardless, the Patriots sure aren’t complaining about bringing in a potential difference-maker on offense this late in the draft, which should only help the development of fellow draft pick Drake Maye in his rookie season.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.