NFL insider views these 4 Patriots receivers as roster locks

Patriots

There will be stiff competition in training camp to fill out New England’s receiver room.

In 2024, the Patriots’ wide receiver room was uninspiring. But after an offseason overhaul through free agency and the draft, the outlook of the group looks far different.

This time around, there are some serious hurdles in the way of any receiver looking to make New England’s 53-man roster ahead of Week 1 in September.

After taking a close look at the unit during organized team activities (OTAs) and mandatory minicamp, ESPN’s Mike Reiss believes four Patriots receivers have emerged as roster locks: Stefon Diggs, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, and Kyle Williams.

None of those names is particularly surprising. Douglas has been arguably New England’s best receiver the last two seasons, Diggs is a proven veteran that will likely be the top receiver this year. Williams is the team’s 2025 third-round draft pick with high upside. Hollins is not only a steady veteran in the mix, but he’s also a special teams standout and has previously played for Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Assuming New England carries six receivers on its roster — as is the general NFL standard — that would leave two spots up for grabs. So, how could the rest of the Patriots’ receiving corps shake out behind those four?

The best of the rest

There are seemingly five solid candidates looking to slide into the remaining slots: Kendrick Bourne, Kayshon Boutte, Ja’Lynn Polk, Javon Baker, and Efton Chism. Each has legitimate value that could warrant a depth role — or more — with the Patriots in 2025.

Bourne is the most experienced receiver of the group, entering his ninth year in the league. He also has an advantage as the only receiver of the five fringe players with prior experience playing for McDaniels. Not only that, but Bourne’s best season in New England came while McDaniels was his offensive coordinator.

That said, Bourne also has arguably the highest trade value of those five aforementioned receivers. So, if the Patriots are looking to get some extra value out of their suddenly crowded group, it may be better to move on from Bourne than keep him around as a depth receiver.

Boutte is also an established player, but there’s a chance he falls out of the mix due to his relatively low ceiling. He’s a good fit as a depth receiver, and has a higher floor than some of his counterparts, but there may be more value in taking a chance on a younger player with more potential upside. And, because of a few highlight plays in 2024, there’s an outside chance New England could flip Boutte for a late-round pick to a team in need of depth.

Polk and Baker fall into very similar categories together. They each vastly underperformed in 2024. However, cutting either of them loose after just one season would be a difficult decision to make. Eliot Wolf saw something in both Polk and Baker that warranted drafting them as second and fourth-round picks, respectively. Vrabel would need to be certain that either didn’t have any future in New England before cutting them loose.

Polk’s case is particularly complex, because while he was the higher pick and therefore holds more theoretical value entering his second year, his nagging shoulder injury has left him limited in spring practices. He won’t have as much room to prove he belongs as his teammates.

Chism is the wildcard of the group. An undrafted free agent, he’s undersized and ran a subpar 4.71 40-yard dash at his pro day, but has noticeable quickness out of his break on routes. He’s been an early standout this spring and is warranting serious consideration to make the roster in his own right. Also working in Chism’s favor: he’s the only true slot receiver in the whole group outside of Douglas.

McDaniels’s offense has featured plenty of prominent slot receivers in the past, with Wes Welker and Julian Edelman being among the most prolific threats from that position. It’s yet to be seen what McDaniels’s system will look like under Vrabel, but if it’s similar to his previous schemes, he may want a second slot receiver like Chism on the team.

The biggest disadvantage working against Chism is that as an undrafted free agent, it would be easier to cut him and retain him on the practice squad than any of the other bubble receivers. If the competition gets too tight, the Patriots could elect to go that route and elevate Chism or sign him to the roster midway through the season.

There’s still plenty of time left in the offseason for any receiver on uncertain ground to pull away and earn a spot on Vrabel’s Week 1 roster.