What a difference a year makes.
Patriots pass catchers currently rank fifth in total receiving yards, leaguewide, after finishing dead last in 2024.
The Patriots have posted 2,038 receiving yards with an average of 11.9 yards per reception through eight games – tying them for second in that stat behind just the Seahawks. Patriots receivers have also decorated the scoreboard aplenty, tying with the Buccaneers for the second-most touchdown grabs in the NFL, (29).
But the receiving corps’ leader, Stefon Diggs, didn’t get into the endzone this season until the second half in Sunday’s win over the Browns.
During his ‘Patriots Monday’ appearance on ‘WEEI Afternoons,’ quarterback Drake Maye shared how great it felt to see his teammate get a touchdown.
“We were joking, it took him a while to get in the endzone.
The play before he got in, he was kind of, manifesting it. He wanted to get in the endzone real bad. We were joking that KC [K'Lavon Chaisson] got more touchdowns than him, I said that in the postgame press conference. It was good to get him in the endzone. I think he was more excited than anybody to get in the endzone. I think it was a great call,” he said.
One holdover from last season showing tremendous growth in Kayshon Boutte, who finished Sunday with 75 yards and a touchdown, and already has 431 receiving yards this year. He has the third largest average yards per reception at 18.7 across 23 targets – significantly more than league leaders Tyquan Thornton and Alex Pierce. He’s also tied for fifth in plays for more than 20 yards, at 9.
When asked about Boutte’s breakthrough season, Maye said it’s very much in-line with what he sees Wednesday through Friday in Foxborough.
“You aren’t surprised when you see it every day in practice and that’s what these guys do. They put it on tape. They show it in practice,” he said. “It’s my job to get them chances to go make plays and it’s just stuff to learn from, from the game. But just keep giving them chances and they keep showing up.”