If the Patriots want Mac Jones to make that Year 2 leap everyone keeps referencing, he'll need a bit more from his wide receivers than he got last season.
Interestingly, the offense will be relying largely on a similar group to the one they had last season with a few key additions: DeVante Parker (trade from Miami) and Tyquan Thornton (second-round pick).
But that's not all. As of now, the Patriots currently have 10 receivers on the roster after signing third-year pass-catcher Lil’Jordan Humphrey, formerly of the New Orleans Saints. If nothing else, they're certainly loading up on options at the position.
Here's how the group looks at the moment: DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor, Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton, Tre Nixon, N'Keal Harry, Kristian Wilkerson, Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Malcolm Perry, and Ty Montgomery, who has played both receiver and running back in spring camp.
In all likelihood, the magic number for receivers on the 53-man roster will likely be six. Aside from last year, when the team kept just five receivers on after final cuts, the Patriots have kept six receivers on the 53-man roster each year since 2017.
Five of those players are probably already accounted for: Parker, Agholor, Bourne, Meyers, and Thornton, assuming the Patriots don’t find a reason to put the speedy but skinny rookie on injured reserve to give him a true redshirt year. Given how his speed has popped at practice and the way he's picked things up so far, it feels as if New England will want to use him on offense as a rookie, albeit in a limited way.
That leaves one spot -- two at most -- for six other players to fight over.
Truthfully, that spot might come down to just three players in reality. Malcolm Perry and Kristian Wilkerson look like easy cuts from this group so far with neither standing out thus far. Also, Harry is all but gone: his presence at mandatory minicamp looked purely out of necessity so he wouldn't incur fines, and he wasn't noticeable when he was on the field. The team will probably cut him or trade him before wasting a roster spot on him.
That pares the list down to Humphrey, Montgomery, and Nixon. Humphrey feels like more of a camp body at this point, though his size would create some excellent balance within the receiver room if he proved himself enough. Montgomery and Nixon, though, have been here since the beginning of spring practice and both have played well, with Nixon obviously having more explosive plays.
When the pads come on, it feels as if Montgomery's versatility and experience could end up making him the favorite to make the squad over Nixon. Montgomery has proven himself a valuable special teamer with multiple teams and can serve as a third-down back, which could be important if James White isn't healthy to begin the season.
Nixon might very well prove that notion incorrect, but we see shirts-n-shorts superstars disappear when the real football starts every season. The former seventh-round pick isn't exactly a stout figure, so he'll need to show he can move the same and make plays through contact when the action is live.
If Nixon does end up a casualty of final cuts, though, he's very likely to make it back to the practice squad. As a late-round pick who spent all of last year on New England's practice squad, it's highly likely any team has Nixon on their radar enough to devote a 53-man roster spot to him if he goes on waivers. Assuming he does remain in Foxborough as a practice squad player, one could see him getting some snaps during the season as a practice squad elevation just as Wilkerson did in 2021.
One other point: as upset as fans may be with Nelson Agholor's performance in 2021, trading or cutting him probably isn't in the Patriots' best interest this year.
Clearing Agholor's $14 million cap hit off the books and getting a draft pick in return doesn't help Mac Jones in the short term. Why? Because it leaves the Patriots with Thornton, who's likely best brought on slowly at this point, as the team's only true speed threat. That was arguably one of the general problems with last year's receiver group: a lack of raw speed and ability to separate.
That said, teams clearly paid attention to Agholor when he was on the field. He had the lowest cushion and separation of any Patriots pass-catcher last year, per NextGen Stats, while the slower Bourne and Meyers had more space to operate by far. Agholor often had safety help waiting for him over the top, which may have been a big reason for Bourne and Meyers both topping 800 yards receiving.
With Parker now in the mix as a traditional "X" receiver, the Patriots will have more freedom to move Agholor around formations and catch the ball in space himself. The results of that experiment were promising in spring camp, which could signal a more productive year for him and this tweaked receiving corps.
At least that's what New England is banking on.
