The Patriots' receiving corps has been a topic of discussion long before Tom Brady chose to leave the team in 2020. It had been consistently debated whether Bill Belichick was giving his quarterbacks enough firepower offensively to be successful, which was a particular argument in the post-Brady era.
That was a concern during Drake Maye's rookie season last year, and it is what appeared to lead to several issues throughout the year. Although GM Eliot Wolf attempted to make things right by making a trade offer for Brandon Aiyuk, nothing came to fruition, and Maye was forced to work with what he had, which was far below what was needed so early in his career.