The New England Patriots wide receiver room is one of the deepest position groups on the roster.
Following the additions of A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs this offseason, New England’s top seven now features Brown, Doubs, DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte, Kyle Williams, and Efton Chism III.
Rather than viewing the room as crowded, Drake Maye sees it as competitive. Appearing on SiriusXM NFL Radio on Monday, the quarterback broke down the group, starting with his two newest targets.
“Start off
the bat with A.J., having him coming in and kind of set the tone for the room. I think him and Romeo — the guys in there, they’ve really enjoyed the competitive drive in that room. People say it’s a crowded room but, as you know as receivers go, you’re going to need everybody.
“With A.J., the ability for him to not only make me look good, but go out there and make plays and catch the football; we were watching some of his ‘target tape’ the other day, and him being able to take a slant, take an under, and take it to the house. But at the same time he has route craft and he knows you can’t just win everything physically. At some point, you have to use routes, use his technique, and he does a great job.
“I think Romeo has done a great job coming in here and learning the offense. He hasn’t been in an offense like this that has some decision-making [for receivers]. I think he’s getting better and better as he’s gotten through OTAs and even in camp, he’s making some great plays for us. He’s kind of shifty and has a little wiggle to him that I didn’t really expect throwing to him in camp.”
Through eight training camp practices, Maye’s chemistry with both Brown and Doubs has progressed nicely. When the offense breaks the huddle in 11 personnel, those two are stapled on Maye’s sides. In the slot, however, has primarily been DeMario Douglas.
“Next up, we have Pop in the slot,” Maye said. “I think Pop’s the one from last year that’s just continuing to get better and better. You see it every year. From my rookie year being with him to Year 3 now, just kind of the connection and knowing how he runs routes. I think he does a great job in man; it’s hard to cover him. So he’s going to be a big piece of what we do when we’re in ‘11’ personnel. I’m looking forward to seeing how he continues to grow and make more plays this year. I think he definitely will.”
Last season, veteran free agent addition Mack Hollins led all Patriots wide receivers playing 68 percent of the offensive snaps. Hollins turned in a productive season catching 46 passes for 550 yards while being a strong veteran presence in the locker room.
“Mack is kind of the Swiss-Army knife. He does it all,” Maye explained. “He’s obviously big in the run game, but I think Coach [McDaniels] rewards him with play-action off it. So he always says, ‘Just throw it to me on the in-cuts.’ He loves [that]. He’s big and has that demeanor to him that people feed off, that energy about him.”
New England’s wide receiver room then features a pair of second-year players in Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III, who are both pushing for larger roles this season.
“Kyle, last year, was kind of a big-play guy,” Maye said. “I think he’s worked hard to be able to [run] different routes and be able to build his route-arsenal coming into his second year. I’m looking forward to seeing how that goes. And obviously he’s a deep threat, he’s fast, can run by people – which is always something the defense has to think about.
“Then Chis, you can’t forget about Efton Chism. He kind of became one of those guys late in the season when Mack got hurt, he had a role where we tried to replace what Mack does. I think the biggest thing with Chis is he’s just doing the right things and making a lot of plays. He was a big preseason guy last year and so he’ll probably continue to make plays.”
Last but not least, Maye mentioned wide receiver Kayshon Boutte. The twos chemistry has been apparent over their two seasons together, but the 24-year old has been in the middle of trade talks this offseason as he enters the last year of his rookie contract and has been pushed down the depth chart.
“Probably the last one is Boutte,” Maye said. “He’s a comforting receiver to throw to. You get to know him – same thing as Pop, this is my third year with Boutte and I was throwing to him on scout team when I was a rookie. Now we’re making plays; I threw my first touchdown to him. He’s just one of those guys that is quiet, does everything the right way, cares about his teammates, and he just puts his head down and works. There’s a lot of talk about whatever you want to say with Boutte, but he just continues to make plays. He’s going to be in the right spot and make a play on the football.”
Whether there is any significance to Maye mentioning Boutte last is unknown. It is notable, however, that the quarterback also did not mention Boutte when discussing his pass catchers last week, instead highlighting Brown, Doubs, Douglas, tight end Hunter Henry, and running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson.
How the logjam at wide receiver resolves itself is a question that will be answered later this summer. But for now, it is a good problem to have with all seven off to a strong start this training camp.
