The New England Patriots era of A.J. Brown’s career hasn’t gotten off to the start he or the organization hoped for. After a major trade this offseason to bring in the talented wide receiver, Brown was removed from the season-opening loss to the Seahawks with an ankle injury. He pulled in three receptions for 26 yards before the injury occurred. After a few days of scans and consulting doctors, the issue has been deemed severe enough to place the three-time Pro Bowler on injured reserve for now. This means Brown will be sidelined for a minimum of four games.
This is a tough break for the reigning AFC Champions, who expected Brown to be a difference-maker in the offense this year. Coming off a season in which wide receiver production was largely underwhelming and New England still managed to fall just one game shy of being crowned champions, hopes were high for the Patriots. But the opening week loss and this injury to their new star wide receiver have increased the level of urgency for the franchise. As Brown recovers from his injury, the Patriots will look toward other key pass catchers for Drake Maye to lean on.
Who is the Patriots’ WR1 after A.J. Brown’s injury?
Brown was not the only notable addition in the Patriots’ wide receiver room this offseason, as Romeo Doubs was inked to a four-year, $80 million deal. Unfortunately, Doubs’ New England debut was even more concerning and underwhelming. The former Packers’ wide receiver failed to pull in any of his three targets from Maye, going without a reception in his Patriots’ debut.
Looking at the overall production, Mack Hollins led the team with four catches for 51 yards. Rhamondre Stevenson tallied 44 yards through the air on five receptions out of the backfield, while tight end Hunter Henry added 26 receiving yards. Demario Douglas led the team with seven targets and five receptions, but turned this into just 20 yards through the air. Lan Larison and Eli Raridon also played a role, but combined for just three receptions for 11 yards, although Raridon did record a touchdown.
From a fantasy football perspective, it was a tough outlook for the entire roster in the season opener. Stevenson led all scorers on the Patriots’ roster with 14.5 fantasy points based on DraftKings scoring. Maye was the only other player to eclipse 10+ points with 12.8 in the game. Hollins led all pass catchers with 9.1 fantasy points, while Raridon added 7.2, Douglas tallied 7.0, and Henry and Brown each had 5.6.
The first conversation when projecting the outlook at the wide receiver position must start with the quarterback. Simply put, the level of play from Maye in Week 1 was not near the standard of what the Patriots need from him. The North Carolina product completed 23 of his 33 pass attempts for 178 passing yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. It feels like just about every year there is a rush to crown the next up-and-coming superstar at the quarterback position, and sometimes this label gets applied a bit too prematurely. Maye’s strong play and the team success the Patriots achieved last year led him to be in some lofty conversations in the quarterback rankings. But the task only gets more difficult as defensive coordinators across the league get more film on the young quarterback, and there has been a collective growth in concern regarding his outlook. It is far too early to begin writing him off, but it is fair for concerns to be heightened.
Maye’s performance will have a direct impact on the outlook for each wide receiver moving forward. Given the investment the organization made in him, expect a much clearer effort to get Doubs involved in the Patriots’ attack this week and moving forward. He tallied a career-best 724 receiving yards last year and has 21 total touchdowns across his first four seasons in the league. The 26-year-old has averaged 10.2 fantasy points per game or greater in three consecutive seasons, and in theory his role should expand in New England.
However, there was a level of discomfort that stood out when watching the Patriots in the opening matchup. It is important to note that this was a Seattle Seahawks team that won the Super Bowl largely on the back of their defensive success and is widely expected to have one of the top units again this year. But as Maye scrambled around the pocket, he largely searched for more familiar faces in his progression.
DeMario Douglas led the team with seven targets, pulling in five of these, while Mack Hollins aw five passes thrown his way and led the team with 51 receiving yards. Douglas has been a member of this Patriots organization since Maye arrived, and Hollins played an important role last year during his breakout. Expect both players to see their roles scaled up in the coming weeks. The two combined for 997 receiving yards last year and will climb the pecking order during Brown’s absence. This is especially the case with Doubs seeing just over 56% of the offensive snaps in the season opener.
Expectations should be scaled back a bit for the entire New England offense following Brown’s injury and frustrating Week 1 performance. It was far from a smooth offseason for the Patriots, and Brown was a key part of the vision heading into this year. While Doubs will surely see his role expand compared to the absence of catches in the opener, expect the more familiar pass catchers to make a more notable statistical impact as the offense gets ironed out. Put some stock in the rate that Maye targeted Douglas in the opener. Relative to expectations, have him circled as the short-term top Patriots wide receiver while Brown gets healthy and the offensive finds its collective stride.
