The New England Patriots made a surprising run to the Super Bowl last year, mostly due to the emergence of second-year QB Drake Maye as one of the best young quarterbacks in the league. While Maye brings plenty of great upside to the Patriots’ passing game again this season under offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, he’ll have a new cast of characters catching his passes this season. That’s including Romeo Doubs, who came over to the Patriots from the Packers as one of the team’s biggest offseason additions. Is Doubs a fantasy football breakout candidate in 2026 as he goes through his first season working with Maye?
Let’s take a look at Doubs’ current ADP and WR ranking to see if it makes sense to target him as a potential breakout candidate.
Patriots WR Depth Chart Update
Last year, Stefon Diggs led the team in receiving yards, catches and targets, with Kayshon Boutte second in receiving yards among wide receivers. Diggs will be playing this year for the Commanders and Boutte for the Texans, leaving plenty of potential targets available. While Mack Hollins and DeMario Douglas are back to play their peripheral roles, the departures of Boutte and Diggs leave plenty of work up for grabs.
A.J. Brown will definitely get most of that work since he was brought in via trade from the Eagles to give the team a true WR1. His addition could help Maye take another step forward with an elite weapon on the outside. While he isn’t likely to draw quite as many looks as Brown, Doubs was also a big pickup for the Pats this offseason. New England gave Doubs a four-year, $80 million contract, so they’ll definitely be looking for him to play a substantial role.
Romeo Doubs Potential Production
Doubs was a fourth-round pick out of Nevada in the 2022 NFL Draft. He was a steady contributor in Green Bay, racking up 2,424 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns on 202 catches in 59 games.
He is coming off a career-high 724 yards last season, and he found the end zone six times in the regular season and once in the playoffs. His most memorable game was a three-touchdown outing in Green Bay’s 40-40 tie with the Cowboys in Week 4. He caught 8-of-11 targets for 124 yards and a touchdown in Green Bay’s 31-27 loss in the Wild Card round last January.
Doubs has proven he can be a good target for deep balls, which makes him a great fit for Maye in McDaniels’ offense. He also is a very solid option near the goal line and in the red zone, and has proven he can make contested catches in short-yardage situations. He scored a career-high eight touchdowns in 2023 and has 21 regular-season scores in his four seasons so far.
He has typically worked from the outside, but he has been very successful in his limited time in the slot. The Patriots have been moving him inside often throughout training camp and expect him to be a big slot, creating separation over the middle and on deep balls down the field.
He’ll likely be the team’s No. 2 WR behind only Brown, but Brown has had enough injury problems in the last few years that there could even be some games where Dobbs is left as the Patriots’ top option. He started camp a little slowly this season, but he developed a strong connection with his new QB and turned into a standout star by the end of camp and in the preseason.
Drake Maye showed the ability and willingness to spread the ball around, so getting Doubs involved should be a regular part of his game plan.
The Bottom Line
The preseason trade of Kayshon Boutte to the Texans opened the door wide for Doubs to establish himself as a go-to option. He’s being drafted extremely late and even going undrafted in many formats. If you can grab Doubs late, he could be one of the strongest value picks of the season. He’s being drafted after 70 other receivers are off the board, and he can be a great late-round flier who comes loaded with upside and breakout potential.
He’s flashed big games in the past, but with Drake Maye getting him the ball, he could be a top-30 receiver who deserves to be drafted in all formats. Doubs could quickly become a startable option as the season gets underway. It’s best not to reach and draft him as a starting option until his role is more defined, but getting him late is a savvy draft strategy.
