If someone told you before the season that, through two games, DeMario “Pop” Douglas would have just three receptions for six yards and a touchdown, it’d be hard to believe.
Over the past two seasons, the 24-year-old has led the Patriots in receptions (115), targets (166), and receiving yards (1,182). He carried that momentum into training camp, where he was the team’s most consistent and heavily targeted receiver. It was his first camp under Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels, who has long relied on slot receivers as the engine of his offenses, and Douglas looked primed for a breakout in Year 3.
So far, that breakout hasn’t come.
“The big thing with Pop is he’s done such a great job since training camp, since the spring, learning the offense, being in different roles,” quarterback Drake Maye said of Douglas’ involvement in the offense. “Just stay bringing it. I think that the ball is going to find him. There are going to be some opportunities where we can get him the football. He’s a great player, good with the ball in his hands. Just keep going. Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way in the game, some weeks. Getting some bigger personnel and things like that to run the football. We’ll definitely find ways to get Pop the ball.”
Douglas, who has played more snaps than any Patriots’ wide receiver since he entered the league in 2023, has seen 60 of New England’s 131 total offensive snaps (45.8%). In Week 1’s loss to the Raiders, he played 45 of the available 71 offensive snaps, registering two targets on seven targets for -2 yards and a touchdown. In Week 2 against the Dolphins, Douglas saw just 15 of the 60 offensive snaps (25%). He didn’t see a target until the fourth quarter, when he caught an eight-yard pass — his only target of the game.
“Pop is awesome. Look, the game dictates a lot of things,” McDaniels said. “Depending on how much we’re in third down. How much we’re in two-minute situations. How much we’ve decided to play the game in one personnel grouping or another, for multiple different reasons, would dictate a lot of things for a lot of players. Every time we’re in three receivers, there is only one tight end on the field. Every time we’re in two backs at the same time, there are less — you know, anytime you put somebody else in, somebody else has to come out.”
In Miami, McDaniels and the Patriots leaned more on double-tight end sets, limiting opportunities for the 5-foot-8, 192-pound Douglas. Maye attempted just 23 passes — tied for the fewest in his career in a game he played start to finish. The Patriots also ran the ball 29 times for 122 yards (4.2 yards per carry).
“There’s going to be an ebb and flow each week. The game plan is going to dictate different personnel groupings. You want to create different matchups, or maybe sometimes, when you put a different pairing on the field, you get something defensively that you are hunting,” said wide receivers coach Todd Downing. “So I think there’s going to be some ebbs and flows there. I know a lot has been made about people’s snap counts two weeks in, but I’m excited about the group and their versatility, and I think that throughout the year that’s going to serve us well.”
Despite the slow start, Douglas has remained his usual, upbeat self, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by the coaching staff.
“I’ve really appreciated the unselfish nature of our entire group. Pop is at the top of that list,” said McDaniels. “He knows what his job is. He knows his role. He is ready to go every week. I expect him to continue to prepare hard and make plays when his number is called. He just didn’t have a lot of opportunities last week, and sometimes that happens.”
“The ball hasn’t found him as many times early in the season, but he hasn’t batted an eye. His work ethic has stayed the same,” added Downing. “His attitude and his contagious energy have stayed the same. It’s just awesome to be a coach of a room that has a bunch of guys who are willing to do whatever the team needs, and do it with great positive energy. Pop is certainly a great example of that.”
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