Kelley: Why Are the Patriots Wide Receivers Lacking Pop?

The New England Patriots enter their Week 3 Thursday Night Football game against the New York Jets with a 1-1 record. They pulled off arguably the biggest upset in Week 1, beating the Cincinnati Bengals on the road 16-10. It took overtime for the Seattle Seahawks to defeat the Patriots in Week 2. New England could easily be 2-0 or 0-2 after two weeks. But if they want to win more than they lose moving forward, the Patriots need to get more production from their wide receivers.

Kendrick Bourne began the season on injured reserve. That left six wide receivers on New England’s 53-man roster, with five dressing for each game. The group of DeMario Douglas, Ja’Lynn Polk, K.J. Osborn, Tyquan Thornton, Javon Baker, and Kayshon Boutte is simply not produced. Through two weeks, they have a combined 11 receptions for 85 yards and one touchdown.

To put this in perspective, there are 13 NFL wide receivers with 11 receptions after two weeks. Forty-six wide receivers have at least 85 receiving yards in 2024. And 40 receivers, not including Ja’Lynn Polk, have caught a touchdown pass. Furthermore, nine NFL wide receivers equal or better the New England Patriots wide receivers’ totals in all three categories by themselves.

Sustaining a competitive team with so little production from the team’s wide receivers is not sustainable. With recent scapegoats, Matt Patricia, Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe, DeVante Parker, and JuJu Smith-Schuster have all departed. So, who is to blame for this lack of production out of the wide receiver room?

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The Wide Receivers

New England doesn’t have any of the NFL’s superstar receivers. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be doing more than they have. DeMario Douglas was singled by Patriots Football Now as one of three New England skill players who could have big seasons in 2024. While the other two, Rhamondre Stevenson and Hunter Henry, have produced, Douglas has been virtually invisible. He has just two receptions for 12 yards. The only player other than Douglas to be on the field for 40 passing plays this season and have fewer than three targets is Jahan Dotson of the Philadelphia Eagles. The second-year player was supposed to have a leap in production in year two, but instead is starting to sound frustrated.

DeMario Douglas talks "very, very challenging" game vs. Seahawks (0 targets) pic.twitter.com/L0dyBuxsdS

— Patriots Coverage on NBCS Boston (@NBCSPatriots) September 16, 2024

New England used draft capital to select Ja’Lynn Polk in Round 2 and Javon Baker in Round 4. The rookies have not paid dividends early. Polk has the team’s lone touchdown catch and looks good blocking, but three receptions for 18 yards is not weaponizing the offense the way the team stressed was needed. Baker struggled in training camp, was inactive for Week 1, and did not show up on the stat sheet against Seattle. K.J. Osborn is the most targeted wideout thus far, but those eight targets have produced just four receptions for 28 yards. Tyquan Thornton and Kayshon Boutte have been nonfactors after showing some skills in the preseason.

That said, only four NFL receivers have a separation rate above 75% through two weeks. Douglas (69.23%), Polk (60.87%), and Thornton (58.82%) are all open enough to be getting more chances. Osborn has the lowest percentage of the group (45.45%) despite the most targets.

Jacoby Brissett

The New England Patriots quarterback has done a great job at avoiding turnovers through two games. He has thrown no interceptions and has no fumbles despite being under constant pressure. Brissett avoiding negative plays has been a key factor in giving the Patriots a chance to win both games. However, his lack of taking chances is also a factor in the wide receivers not putting up bigger numbers. Furthermore, Brissett has limitations with both his arm and his legs. Watching training camp and the preseason games, it was clear rookies Drake Maye and Joe Milton III dwarf the veteran in both areas.

Brissett’s natural abilities are not going to change overnight in his ninth season. His limitations are known. There will not be extended scrambles to keep plays alive and find wide receivers downfield. He is not going to throw a laser into tight coverage. Fortunately, Brissett is aware of his limitations and works around them. Asking him to take more risks by throwing deep or into coverage has more risk than reward. The wide receivers’ numbers would look better, but the team’s chances of winning games likely would not. Asking Brissett to not commit costly turnovers while trying to stay alive in the backfield is already putting enough on his plate.

Offensive Line

The first two weeks have been a disappointment from a pass-protection standpoint for a group that little was expected of to begin with. Left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor allowed three pressures on six pass attempts against Cincinnati. He was replaced in the game, and Okorafor left the Patriots before Week 2 to decide if he wanted to continue playing football. Vederian Lowe replaced Okorafor in Week 1 and played all of regulaltion in Week 2. He was dealing with an abdomen injury entering the regular season and hurt his knee against Seattle (he is out for Week 3). Lowe held up better than Okorafor but has allowed seven pressures through two games.

Right guard Layden Robinson has allowed eight, including a sack. Right tackle Mike Onwenu, New England’s highest-paid offensive player, has a pass-blocking grade of 59.1 from Pro Football Focus in 2024. Anything below 60 is considered replaceable by a non-roster player.

Only center David Andrews and left tackle Michael Jordan have been solid, if unspectacular, in pass-block duties. Three out of five is simply not enough for an offense to function properly. It limits what the quarterback can do and how long the wide receivers have to get open. There is a trickle-down effect to poor line play, which extends to the team’s wide receivers.

Offensive Coordinator

Alex Van Pelt is the New England Patriots’ fourth offensive coordinator in as many years. When Van Pelt took the job, he said he would adapt the offensive to the team’s personnel. To date, he has not done that. The limitations of the offense are known. The OC needs to plan the offense around them.

Van Pelt has done a good job emphasizing the run game and getting tight end Hunter Henry involved in the offense. However, these schemes do not seem likely to produce much for the Patriots’ receivers. Having wide receivers run deep patterns relies on too many variables for them to be successful in New England this season. In addition to the receiver getting open, the line needs to give Brissett enough protection to find them open. Brissett must see the play develop, pull the trigger, and deliver a catchable ball. The receiver then needs to be able to make the play. New England rarely gets to the point of Brissett up seeing if his receiver is open.

Why isn’t New England running more quick slants to DeMario Douglas? Or an occasional wide receiver screen to Tyquan Thornton? These plays can get the wide receivers some confidence, help keep them engaged in the game more, and give them a chance to make something happen on their own. That is not an opportunity they’ve been given so far this season.

How Will Things Change?

Confidence in the New England Patriots wide receiver should be lower if they struggled to get open or catch the football. Neither of those things are happening. K.J. Osborn has the lowest percentage of creating separation and the only drop so far, and he’s receiving the most targets. New England hopes the offensive line improves their pass protection to give Jacoby Brissett more time to find his wideouts, but that is far from a given.

Ultimately, this falls on offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. He is not the one that caused the personnel issues the team has. However, he needs to take advantage of what the team does have working in its favor. DeMario Douglas is a playmaker who needs to be put in a position to make plays. Ja’Lynn Polk impressed the team enough to select him in the second round. He should be given a chance to show what he can do.

.@JBrissett12 delivers a strike to rookie @jpolk_22 for his 1st career TD!

📺: #SEAvsNE on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/AZc4jImGsO

— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024

Nobody is asking or expecting the 2024 New England Patriots to emerge as one of the league’s most dangerous offenses. But the expectations should be higher than what the production from the wide receivers has been through two weeks. Hopefully, Alex Van Pelt makes getting his wideouts more involved in the game plan a priority for Week 3. More attention elsewhere would benefit productive players like Rhamondre Stevenson and Hunter Henry as well. If the line can’t protect for long, get the ball out quickly and see what these guys can do.