Romeo Doubs Start or Sit Advice for Week 1
AJ Brown is the new Patriots receiver drawing all of the attention this fantasy season, and for good reason. He is a three-time Pro Bowler who finished as WR14 in 2025 and WR17 in 2024 despite missing six games between those two seasons. Brown also finished as a top-10 wideout in fantasy in four of the prior five seasons, and he is still in his prime at 29 years old. But with Drake Maye at quarterback and Josh McDaniels at offensive coordinator, there is also a path for Romeo Doubs to be fantasy relevant as well.
Doubs spent the first four seasons of his career with the Green Bay Packers before he scored a four-year, $68 million contract from New England in March. After starting in seven of his 13 appearances as a rookie in 2022, Doubs has appeared in 46 of 51 regular-season games since – starting in 43 of them. Doubs has been a consistent producer in the last three seasons, averaging between 11.7 and 12.3 yards for his average depth of target in all three campaigns. He finished as WR39 in fantasy when he played in 17 games in 2023, then WR34 when he appeared in 16 contests in 2025.
On a per season basis, Doubs is averaging 666 yards and six touchdowns on 53 catches and 84 targets since 2023. The 26-year-old is averaging 10.2 PPR fantasy points per game in that span, all while splitting time with Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden and Dontayvion Wicks. Doubs’ 724 yards, 13.2 yards per reception, 8.5 yards per target and 64.7% catch percentage in 2025 were all career highs. The Packers’ 110.1 passer rating when targeting Doubs was also their highest of the Jordan Love era, and higher than the mark Doubs accounted for when Aaron Rodgers was the starter in Green Bay in 2022.
Obviously, Doubs doesn’t have Love throwing him the ball anymore, but he does have NFL MVP runner-up Drake Maye. He will have to compete for targets with Brown, as well as Pop Douglas, Mack Hollins and Kyle Williams. Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte are out the door, though, leaving 148 targets up for grabs. Brown will almost certainly get more of those than Doubs, but he had DeVonta Smith turn in four straight top-30 fantasy seasons behind him in Philly. Doubs can chip away at Hollins’ 65 and Douglas’ 46 targets from a year ago, plus running back TreVeyon Henderson and his 42 targets are banged up to start the year and Maye should attempt more passes in 2026 anyway. Maye ranked 12th in the NFL in the category in 2025, thanks in large part to the Patriots holding so many fourth quarter leads against the league’s easiest schedule.
Doubs is facing the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in Week 1. The Seahawks held opposing wideouts to the sixth-fewest fantasy points in 2025. When New England and Seattle met in the Super Bowl back in February, Hollins led Patriots receivers with 17.8 PPR fantasy points. Douglas had 9.5, Diggs had 6.7, Boutte had 3.1 and Williams had 1.7. It is worth noting that Doubs previously faced head coach Mike Macdonald and defensive coordinator Aden Durde’s unit in 2024 and caught three of five targets for 40 yards and two touchdowns. Doubs is also a first down machine, accounting for 142 on 202 career touches. That 70.3% rate dwarfs Douglas’ 47.6% mark, making him as a much more reliable third down security blanket.
Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Doubs’ lines are 3.5 receptions and 36.5 yards with +285 odds to score a touchdown. With those over/unders, Doubs is effectively projected for 8.7 PPR fantasy points. In deeper leagues with 12 or 14 teams, that may be just enough to slot him in as a high-floor FLEX. I like the touchdown upside, though, and facing this Seahawks defense could give him plenty of opportunities to come through on third-and-long. And unlike some of the other wideouts in his ballpark – like Diggs, Jayden Reed, KC Concepcion, Makai Lemon or Rashid Shaheed – we know Doubs is going to be used in two-receiver sets of a competent offense. With all eyes on Brown in his Patriots debut, it could very well be Doubs who establishes himself as a solid fantasy depth option right off the bat.
