Patriots

Matthew Judon asks Patriots’ rookie Javon Baker to bring personality to Foxborough

"Don’t do that for the public and the media and then come in here with your backpack on, having your head down."

Javon Baker made big plays at UCF. Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

May 4, 2024

Javon Baker made as memorable of a first impression as anyone has in recent Patriots memory after the team selected him in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

As Baker has continued to state his confidence in himself on social media in the days following the draft, Matthew Judon is hoping he continues to carry himself that way. Judon had a message for Baker while appearing on “The Money Down Podcast,” which is co-hosted by former Patriots running back James White.

“You’ve got a lot of potential,” Judon said. “We know you can talk. We know you’re going to have us laughing. We know you can do it in front of the media. We’ve seen you do it in college. We want you to transfer it.

“Don’t do that for the public and the media and then come in here with your backpack on, having your head down,” Judon added. “What is that, man? You just told people in a wheelchair to stand up. Come on, man. Be that, because if you can’t be comfortable at your job, it’s just going to get awkward and you’re going to stop liking the game.”

The quote Judon is referring to came from Baker in his first conference call as a member of the Patriots when he shared what fans should expect out of him.

“Just come to the home stadium and bring your popcorn,” Baker told reporters via video conference Saturday. “As I like to tell y’all. Bring your popcorn. I make people in wheelchairs stand up. Bring your popcorn.”

Baker continued to exude confidence throughout the call, saying that he, second-round pick Ja’Lynn Polk, and Drake Maye “alone is bringing back the winning mentality that everybody likes in Boston.”

As Baker has already posted clips of him working out with his new Patriots teammates on social media, he made another statement in an Instagram post on Thursday.

“No way in [expletive] America 10 receivers better than me. You’re out of your [expletive] mind,” Baker said in an Instagram video.

“You ain’t gonna outwork me, though,” Baker added. “Tell you that much. I don’t give a [expletive] how hard I’m breathing, I’m gonna go again.”

Baker certainly has a reason to feel confident about himself based on his production in his last season at UCF. He had 52 receptions for 1,139 yards and seven touchdowns in 2023, with his 21.9 yards per reception leading all FBS receivers who had at least 30 receptions.

The Patriots’ selection of Baker was just part of an offensive-heavy draft class. New England used its first five picks on offensive players and seven of its eight overall selections on offensive players, notably adding Maye, Polk, offensive tackle Caedan Wallace, and guard Layden Robinson.

Judon said he believed the Patriots “drafted well” as those players help out “at the positions we needed.” He’s also anticipating a quarterback competition between Maye, Jacoby Brissett, and whoever else is in the Patriots quarterbacks room later this summer.

“I think it’s going to be a battle and [Jerod] Mayo’s going to do it well,” Judon said. “He’s gonna let the best player play. We don’t really care where you was drafted, how much money you getting, or who getting paid the most. If you can play, you can play. That’s what it is.

“We wanted to see more production out of our wide receiver group,” Judon continued about the Patriots’ draft. “I think we’ve got a good wide receiver group in there, but I think they wanted to see more production and they went and got some wide receivers. And then, a couple offensive linemen. Our quarterback got hit a lot. We want to be able to run the ball more, so they got some offensive linemen.”