I can’t remember the last time I saw someone as happy to be in Foxborough as Jam Miller was this past weekend. That’s no knock on the town, but let’s face it, Patriot Place being the main draw doesn’t exactly compare to what other NFL destinations offer, especially for a 22-year-old.
But for Miller, just getting drafted was enough to put a smile on his face. In fact, he was so damn excited about the call from the front office that team PR couldn’t reach him to do a draft night Zoom with local media (not complaining).
“It’s a blessing to be in this position,” he said. “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting it. It was late in the round (#245 overall)… But, coming from the Patriots, it meant a lot. Now, I just want to come in and bust my tail off to earn a spot.”
This wasn’t the way that night in April was supposed to play out. Based on summer scouting, Miller was considered a top 3 to 5 back in this class. However, his senior year at Alabama went sideways before the regular season started. Miller was injured during practice in August and needed surgery to repair his collarbone, costing him the first three games.
“As I'm running to the outside, it was a safety, and I believe it was a ‘D’ end that came and tackled me. I had a ball high and tight. So I landed straight on the ball. … I didn't actually feel like a pop or anything, but I got up, and I'm thinking it's my shoulder, thinking I did something to my shoulder, telling the trainer it's my shoulder or something.
“Then I started to feel it over here,” he added, running his hand along his collarbone. “Shoot, I'm holding my arm. I'm not trying to be a weak person. I’m trying to let practice finish, then go to the trainers…”
Forget the trainers. Miller ended up needing surgery. Upon his return, he had some moments. Miller went for 136 yards against Vanderbilt on October 4th and a week later grinded out 85 in a tight win at Missouri. But aside from a solid showing in the Iron Bowl against Auburn (83 yards), this preseason hype didn’t translate into overall results. He also dealt with an ankle injury late in the season.
“You just got to stay true to yourself,” Miller said when asked what he learned from the experience. “ Focus on what you have to do, you know, make sure you're healthy, make sure you're in the training room. Do whatever you can to make sure your body is healthy.”
While 2025 didn’t go the way Miller planned, there’s certainly an opportunity with the Patriots. After releasing Antonio Gibson (still recovering from a torn ACL suffered back in week 5 at Buffalo), the team has just two proven backs on the roster - Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson. Terrell Jennings assumed Gibson’s roster spot but didn’t distinguish himself, and UDFA Lan Larison spent his entire first season on IR. College free agent Myles Montgomery (gets more guaranteed money than Miller) also signed with the team this spring, but none can say they were ‘drafted’ by this regime.
“Whatever position they put me in, if it's blocking, running, whatever, at the end of the day, I'm gonna do what I have to do just to let this team win.”
ON THE MOVE, AND HAPPY ABOUT IT
In an effort to get their best five on the football field last year, Jared Wilson played left guard for the Patriots, slotting between another rookie, tackle Will Campbell, and veteran center Garrett Bradbury.
The season was filled with ups and downs, like it is for most first-year players, never mind ones moving off their natural position. But Wilson certainly showed enough to think he could be a building block moving forward. The organization feels the same way, trading Bradbury to open up the center spot for Wilson.
“Moving from guard to center, people say you’ve got to know all three positions in the interior offensive line, and that’s a very true statement. But it was very different,” Wilson said on Thursday of last year. “I was there before, played in college, so I’m comfortable. But there’s always things to learn. Always new things to learn. Things to tweak.”
There will be more of a mental burden on Wilson with the switch, but he at least has plenty of NFL experience now to lean on, as well as another year in the same system.
“Josh’s (McDaniels) playbook is one of the … it was tough last year. It took me a whole year to figure out that playbook,” he said. “But just getting thrown into the fire Year 1, and just having to just go and go and go, it definitely makes you grow. Matures you.”
McDaniels will be counting on that, along with a year-two leap for the talented Wilson.
OUT WITH THE OLD
After crashing and burning under Brian Daboll, and before that, Joe Judge, the Giants wanted an experienced head coach to pilot their program. They certainly found that in John Harbaugh, who was fired after the Ravens missed the playoffs this past season. That ended an 18-year run in Charm City.
But now Harbaugh is in the shadow of the Big Apple, and has put his paw prints on everything, including inking five different Ravens to join him in New York (headlined by tight end Isaiah Likely and FB Patrick Ricard). He’s also in charge of developing second-year pro Jaxson Dart, who sounds like he’s already fully bought in.
"What he wants to do is what everybody on this team wants to be about,” Dart said. “We're hungry to win. I couldn't think of a better coach to play for."
Harbaugh never lacked energy in Baltimore, and his teams always had a certain personality, often highlighted by physical toughness. According to Dart, that identity is coming to the G-Men.
“I'm excited for the pieces that we've brought in that are going to help us a ton,” he said. “We're just going to be a physical, violent team, and that goes on the offensive side of the ball, the defensive side of the ball, and special teams. I can't wait to get out there."
Dart had a pretty good rookie year, throwing for over 2,500 yards and 15 touchdowns (against just 5 INTs). He also rushed for nearly 500 yards and 9 more scores. There was a certain element of recklessness that exposed Dart to some big hits and had him evaluated for concussions on five separate occasions last year. If Harbaugh is going to find consistent success in NY, he’s going to have to figure out a way to curb some of Dart’s fearlessness once he tucks and runs. As we saw with Drake Maye, sometimes that’s easier said than actually accomplished.
Of course, Harbaugh has experience with another mobile QB in Lamar Jackson, but that can’t be a 1-for-1 comparison. Aside from Michael Vick, no signal caller has ever moved quite like Jackson, who has also been adept at not getting lit up. As we can attest, Dart doesn’t fall in the same category.
forgot about this play pic.twitter.com/J5tLNt2WnN
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) May 13, 2026
So Harbaugh must drill into Dart the idea that you gotta know when to go for it, and when to live to fight another day. But their marriage will be fascinating.
"You build your team around your quarterback,” Harbaugh said at the time of his hiring. “You build your team around your players and what they do well. I like the way he plays. I like his talent, skill set, all the things he's accomplished.
“But more than that, I like who he is and what he's about. To me, he's about football. This young guy loves football. He wants to talk football all the time. That's what I liked doing, too. So we're going to have a lot of great conversations. I can't wait to get started with him."
DRAFT CRUSH MAKING STRONG FIRST IMPRESSION
A quick primer on the next subject, the Bears' third-round draft pick Sam Roush. He was one of my favorite players in this class, and as I implored the Patriots to take a tight end, Roush and Ohio State’s Max Klare were the two I zeroed in on. Klare went in round two to Sean McVay’s Rams, while Roush went 69th overall (basically top of round three).
Here’s what I wrote about Roush in the middle of March:
Roush is a moose, and while he’s not running by safeties too often (4.7 40), there’s an explosiveness in his lower half that I find intriguing (38.5” vert, 10’6” broad jump). He’s already a pro-level run blocker, a true ‘Y’ tight end. Like, I think Vrabel would throw on the blocking pad to ‘feel’ Roush and come away from that experience smitten. What he lacks is a feel for route-running, and his hands are so-so. I think the first thing can be coached up. And spending time with the JUGS machine post-practice would assist with the latter.
The Pats were probably out of the Roush business after signing Julian Hill, but the Bears, even with Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet, went in on the big fella, and the early returns have been good.
“He is a very impressive young man,” Ben Johnson said. “Obviously, you go to a school like that and take education seriously, like he has (Roush had a 3.8 GPA at Stanford), he’s very bright. I don’t think he’ll have any problem picking up the details with which we like to play.”
And how the Bears want to play is similar to how the Rams did a season ago, leaning heavily on jumbo personnel packages, including, of course, three tight-end sets. In fact, Chicago was in 12 personnel, 32.8% last year (6th highest), and spent over 8% in 13 (5th most). Roush’s addition allows them to continue that trend, and maybe even kick it up a notch.
“Things always go full circle, it seems like,” Johnson said. “It wasn’t that long ago that three-receiver sets were kind of the norm, and now it seems to be transitioning a little bit more. But I think the more you can look to attack the defense, whether you want to give them a base defense or you feel comfortable competing against them when they’re in their sub defenses, the flexibility that tight ends give you, I think it adds a dimension to your offense.”
If all goes according to Johnson’s plans, Roush will be a driver of the approach, while also providing someone the Bears foresee taking a bigger role once Kmet’s production no longer equals his contract.
NEWS NUGGETS
- Malik Nabers underwent another knee surgery a few weeks ago. The Giants receiver missed much of last year with a torn ACL and meniscus (hurt in October and had the initial repair done Oct. 28th), and this certainly wasn’t part of the plan. But after experiencing stiffness in workouts, Nabers had a “Clean-up” procedure to remove some scar tissue. The team claims it won’t affect his timetable. But what is that, exactly?
“Going to be more into training camp and closer to the season,” Harbaugh said.
Nabers had 109 catches in his rookie season for 1,204 yards and seven TDs. He had 18 for 271 and 2 before the injury in his second season.
- I like the Chargers getting David Njoku on a one-year deal. He is not much of an in-line blocker anymore, but LA doesn’t need that after signing one of the best in the game in Charlie Kolar. Kolar’s presence allows Njoku to operate almost entirely as a move tight end. Considering he is still quite the athlete, even at 30, that should allow for some mismatches against linebackers and/or safeties.
Yes, Njoku is coming off a 33-catch season, but he also dealt with the horrible quarterback situation in Cleveland (he could say that in perpetuity). Now, he gets Justin Herbert and offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s big brain (at least when it comes to play-calling and play design). There are a lot of mouths to feed, but I’m guessing Njoku gets a chance to eat.
- With field goal percentages rising, and 50-yarders basically a chip shot, the market for good ones is rising. The latest example is Pittsburgh giving Chris Boswell $7 million per season, matching the big deal Dallas gave Brandon Aubrey.
Boswell is no spring chicken. He’s 35 years old (Aubrey is 31), but was a first-team All-Pro in 2024 and backed that up by drilling 27 of 32 attempts, including 9 of 11 from 50+ (he’s 52 of 63 in his career from that range). He also hit a 60-yarder.