FOXBOROUGH – It’s simple math.
The Patriots have too many wide receivers on their roster – and not everyone will end up on the 53-man roster come September.
This offseason, the Patriots signed veterans Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins. They drafted Kyle Williams in the third round. When the draft ended, they signed undrafted free agents Efton Chism III, Jeremiah Webb, and DeMeer Blankumsee.
Add in returning players DeMario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, Kayshon Boutte, Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, and John Jiles – and that gives the Patriots 12 receivers fighting for six, maybe seven, roster spots.
During Tuesday’s OTAs practice, several young pass catchers showed they were up for the fight, and veteran players have taken notice.
“I love ‘em. I feel like they’ve brought everything to the room,” Douglas said. “Straight competition in our room and I love it. Every position, we got competition. So, those two, the four rookies that came in, they’re pushing us to get better. So, as we got people coming in who work hard, that’s going to push everyone else to work harder.”
The Patriots receiver room has lacked top-end talent for quite some time. The franchise hasn’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since Julian Edelman in 2019. They haven’t had a Pro Bowl pass catcher since Rob Gronkowski in 2017.
It hasn’t been from a lack of effort on the front office’s part. The team had a trade agreement in place with the San Francisco 49ers last summer for Brandon Aiyuk. They had a competitive offer out to Calvin Ridley in free agency last year. This offseason, they offered Chris Godwin the most money, but he opted to remain in Tampa Bay.
Instead, the Patriots brought in a former Pro Bowler, coming off a knee injury, in Diggs. Hollins also brings a veteran presence. On Tuesday, neither player practiced in OTAs. Last year’s second-round pick, Polk was also limited and didn’t participate in team drills.
That left more opportunities for younger players to share the field with Drake Maye. As expected, Bourne, Boutte, and Douglas were regulars when Maye was on the field. However, they didn’t make the two biggest catches of the practice. Instead, it was Williams and Baker who stepped up.
In the final 11-on-11 period, Williams beat a Patriots cornerback down the left sideline and jumped over rookie safety Craig Woodson to make a great catch on a Maye deep ball. The third-round pick did a good job keeping his feet in bounds after the tough reception.
“He’s going to talk his talk just like every other receiver. He comes in, had his head down, gets to work, you know he’s hungry, ready to go,” Christian Gonzalez said of Williams. “At this point, that’s all you can ask from him – come in, get to work and ask questions when needed.”
Williams’ catch was only outdone by Baker. A few plays later, the second-year receiver was matched up with Gonzalez on the right sideline. Maye threw a deep pass that looked like it might fall a little short. That’s when Baker adjusted, stopped, jumped, and snagged the ball out of thin air while Gonzalez was draped all over him.
The catch ignited offensive players on the field and the sideline. It was the type of play that could earn Baker a roster spot later this summer.
Another standout was Chism. The undrafted free-agent slot receiver finished with a team-high five receptions (from backup quarterbacks Joshua Dobbs and Ben Wooldridge).
The team has a long way to go before cut-down day. The competition will only get tougher when veterans like Diggs and Hollins get back on the field.
“I would say that the players that aren’t available need to make sure that they’re doing everything they can to stay up mentally and continue to work hard to get back. The young players that are coming onto this roster have to earn a role,” Vrabel said when asked about the receiver depth chart.
“The ones that are returning have a clean slate to go and compete, whether that’s a carryover position from last year or a new position. We’re very early on in the process, but we need that group to compete and have a willingness to go out there and help the quarterback through this spring process.”
