The New England Patriots are back–well at least to being relevant for fantasy football. The Pats have won four straight behind second-year QB Drake Maye and new head coach Mike Vrabel, and during their surge, multiple receivers have stepped up. While it’s great for the NFL team to have options, it creates a tricky situation for fantasy football managers. Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte have all showed upside and fantasy potential, but which one can you trust this week against the Browns?
Let’s take a look at the fantasy football outlook for the three receivers and see how they stack up in Week 8 as the Pats look to stay atop the AFC East after their 5-2 start.
Stefon Diggs fantasy football outlook
The Patriots brought in Diggs this past offseason to give Maye a prototypical WR1 to work with. The 11th-year receiver leads the team in targets, catches and receiving yards by significant margins this year, but strangely he hasn’t been able to find the end zone. With 70 career receiving touchdowns, Diggs has proven to be a red-zone threat, but his current role hasn’t led to any touchdowns.
Diggs’ targets have been inconsistent from week-to-week as Maye has attacked different matchups. He had back-to-back monster weeks against the Panthers (six catches for 101 yards) and in a grudge-match against the Bills (10 catches for 146 yards). However, the following week, he only had three catches on three targets for 28 yards against the Saints.
He bounced back in Week 7 with seven catches on seven targets for 69 yards against the Titans.
Diggs and Maye continue to form a strong connection, and he’s still just coming up on his ACL tear that happened in Week 8 of last season. He recovered much quicker than most and should still continue to get stronger as he gets further from the injury.
He’s on pace for another 1,000-yard season, but his lack of touchdowns and a couple of down weeks are keeping him a little off the radar. Diggs is currently the No. 23 WR in fantasy, though, even without any touchdowns.
This week’s matchup with the Browns isn’t a great one overall, since they allow the 10th-fewest points to wide receivers overall this season. I still have Diggs ranked as my WR25 in my weekly WR rankings, making him a starter in most leagues.
DeMario Douglas fantasy football outlook
Douglas is capable of big plays and big days, but his role isn’t consistent enough for him to be an every-week starter in most formats. He has had at least two catches in five of his seven games this season but never more than three.
He has been held to under 20 yards in every game except for Week 6 against the Saints, when he hauled in this touchdown on his way to 71 yards and a season-high 16.1 fantasy points.
He settled back down in Week 7 with just 17 receiving yards on three catches, but he did earn some style points for a great one-handed grab on fourth down.
He brings upside and has a high ceiling, but he also has a very low floor and should best be used in deep leagues or DFS contests as a bargain play.
Kayshon Boutte fantasy football outlook
While Diggs leads the team in catches, Boutte actually leads the team in wide receiver snaps and has emerged as a go-to big-play threat. He ranks second in WR catches, targets and yards for the Patriots, and he has a team-high four receiving touchdowns.
Boutte had a big Week 1, a touchdown in Week 2, and then a few quiet weeks before breaking back out against the Saints and Titans the last two weeks.
Against the Saints in Week 6, he had five catches on five targets for 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and he followed that up with two catches for 55 yards and another score in Week 7 against the Titans.
While Diggs is the true WR1, Boutte has stepped up as the team’s deep threat and big-play specialist.
That kind of production does make him boom-or-bust, but I love his ceiling and the connection he’s building with Maye. He’s just outside my top 30 this week, but he can definitely still be used as a flex play if you’re desperate, despite his less-than-ideal matchup against the Browns.
The Bottom Line
All three Patriots receivers have value, but each have their own role as well. Diggs is a starter in almost every league, and I think his touchdowns will start to come, making him a WR2 with WR1 upside in some matchups. Boutte is a fringe starter with a high ceiling as a home-run threat. If you play him regularly, he could win you your matchup a few times, but he’ll also probably bust a few games as well. Douglas is only on the radar in deep leagues at this point, barring injury.
For Week 8 DFS contests like DraftKings NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st], the receivers are priced about as would be expected. Diggs has a salary of $5,800, Boutte at $4,800 and Douglas at $3,800. Diggs makes sense for cash game plays with his good upside, Boutte is an ideal GPP fit with his home-run potential, and Douglas can be a bargain flier to take a shot on if you think you can catch him on the game where he gets a big play or two.
