With over 120 million dollars of cap space, the New England Patriots were expected to be aggressive in the free agency market, especially at the receiver position. As premiere receiving options on the market start to re-sign or find new teams, New England’s receiving core hasn’t improved. With only a few veteran options available in free agency, how should the Patriots fill the talent void in their receiver room?
After a season where no receiver had over 800 yards, it was clear that New England needed to significantly upgrade their wide receiver position. While this free agency class was not highly regarded, there were numerous star receivers available who could provide instant production for the Patriots. Players like Chris Godwin, Tee Higgins, DK Metcalf, and Davante Adams all headlined the receiver class, but quickly each one of these players either re-signed or found a new team. That takes New England back into a similar situation, where they likely cannot acquire a true wide receiver one.
One of the biggest problems with the receiver core itself is its inexperience. While Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas had promising years, finishing with 589 yards and 621 yards respectively, in an ideal situation, both of these players would be high-level complimentary pieces on an offense. Getting a proven veteran along with another receiver in the draft should be a heavily considered plan for New England. Names such as Amari Cooper or Stefon Diggs make a lot of sense for the Patriots as well.
Amari Cooper has been a consistent 800+ yard receiver throughout the last four years. This year he was hampered by injuries and quarterback play at the start of the year that altered his production. When healthy, Cooper is a premiere route runner and has a lot agility. He has elevated quarterback play around him throughout his career, and he would be a great fit for Maye.
Cooper’s skillset would fit well alongside Drake Maye, and he would provide him with a security blanket. While this year Amari Cooper had an unusual amount of dropped catches, in general, he’s a sure handed-receiver. Cooper generates an average separation of 2.7 yards, which is far better than the current Patriots’ receiver room.
While Stefon Diggs is coming off a torn ACL, he’s still a solid option New England could look at to provide Drake Maye with a veteran receiver. Diggs had career years with Josh Allen and the Bills, where he had four consecutive seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards. Like Cooper, Diggs is praised for his tactician route running. Alongside that, Diggs provides a contested catch ability that is lacking in New England’s receiver room.
While he is over 30, Diggs was close to 500 yards through eight games as a Houston Texan. Diggs wasn’t as dynamic as he once was but he was still able to create separation at an above-average rate. Diggs’ value is at the lowest its been because of his injury, and bringing him in likely would not cost too much. Diggs definitely can help the current receiver room as a veteran, and pairing him along with a rookie receiver this year would provide that rookie receiver a high-level mentor to develop. The ability Diggs has to create space in zone schemes would help Drake Maye develop in his second year.
Given how young the current Patriots’ receiving core is, being able to sign a proven veteran receiver would do wonders for Drake Maye. Having a receiver who has shown the ability to generate consistent separation will ultimately help the entire offense develop in Josh McDaniels’ first year back as offensive coordinator.
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