While A.J. Brown looked every bit the leading man in the wide receiver room during joint practices against his former team, Romeo Doubs also made a great case as a supporting actor, and it looks like the Patriots may have a wide receiver duo with potential Foxborough hasn’t seen in more than a decade.
“The way he moves and kind of cuts off on some routes and can kind of move his body side to side and kind of get by people is really impressive, and it’s really fun to watch,” quarterback Drake Maye said when asked about Doubs after Thursday’s practice. “He’s only going to continue getting better and better as he gets more comfortable in this offense. So, I’m looking forward to him, and he has made some great climb the ladder catches.”
Doubs has flashed all over the field this week, connecting with Maye on crossing routes and for deep corner touchdowns. He leapt up and grabbed what could have been the catch of the day against the Eagles during an 11-on-11 team period in the right corner of the endzone, but a referee whistled the play dead a half second before. He found Doubs again in the opposite corner during red zone work, where the receiver beat Riq Woolen for the touchdown.
“It’s very comforting seeing that from a receiver. Going up and making a play up top, it’s a “his ball or nobody” is what I’m trying to do,” Maye said. “It has been his ball more times than not.”
The Patriots wandered the desert without a 1,000-yard receiver for five seasons after Julian Edelman’s retirement. Stefon Diggs broke the barrier last year, but the Patriots cut him loose in the spring and signed Doubs to a four-year, $68 million deal. Months later, they traded for Brown.
Now, one has to wonder how many different ways they could use this duo together, and where they might rank in a league littered with wideout duos. The Bengals have Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, the Rams have Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, and the Cowboys have Ceedee Lamb and George Pickens. Having a quarterback like Drake Maye under center opens up all sorts of possibilities for Brown and Doubs to join that group.
The last season in which the Patriots had two receivers each compile more than 1,000 yards in a regular season was 2009: Wes Welker had 1,348 and Randy Moss posted 1,264. More recently, tight end Rob Gronkowski tallied 1,000 receiving yards alongside receivers also make that mark, like Brandin Cooks in 2017.
Breaking the 1,000-yard threshold this year would be a first for Doubs. His career-high was 724, which he reached last season on 55 catches. Maye has looked to Brown and Doubs often through two days of joint practices in team drills, but there are also plenty of other mouths to feed: DeMario Douglas and Mack Hollins will likely play big roles in this offense in the upcoming year. Head coach Mike Vrabel has even said he’s open to keeping seven receivers on the roster, and Maye has voiced his own opinion that he isn’t concerned with keeping individual players happy, but rather, winning games to please the whole team.
The Patriots are in a completely different position heading into 2026 than they were when they saw the Eagles in joint practices during Maye’s rookie season, and it’s exciting to consider how their stockpile of offensive weapons could rival that of elite offenses around the NFL.
