Competitive? Sure.
Hopeful? Absolutely.
Youthfully intriguing? Of course.
Maybe there is even the potential to overachieve and surprise some people.
There are a lot of adjectives and descriptions that could fit the Patriots’ wide receiver room.
But the way that veteran JuJu Smith-Schuster chose to describe his team’s positional room during this week’s OTA session at Gillette Stadium, was positively curious at best and wrong at worst.
“Stacked,” Smith-Schuster said of New England wide receiver room that thankfully parted ways with DeVante Parker this offseason while bringing aboard free agent K.J. Osborne and rookies Ja’Lynn Polk (second round) and Javon Baker (fourth round).
After playing at what he says was 60-percent a year ago in his disappointing first season in Foxborough, Smith-Schuster declared that a winter of rest for his bad knee but no procedures has him at 100-percent. That has him confident both in himself and, apparently, the group of players around him.
But stacked?
Beyond Smith-Schuster – who projected to be New England’s No. 1 receiver when he arrived via free agency a year ago fresh off a Super Bowl win with the Chiefs – and the newcomers, the depth chart includes Kendrick Bourne, DeMario Douglas, Tyquan Thornton, Kayshon Boutte, Jalen Reagor, Kawaan Baker and T.J. Luther.
Among the veterans, none reached 50 receptions a year ago. In fact now-departed running back Ezekiel Elliott led the Patriots with 51 catches in 2023.
None had more than four touchdowns. The only guy to reach that number was Bourne, who’s coming off a torn ACL suffered in late October and reportedly may not be ready for the early part of this season.
The most productive returning receiver in the mix is Douglas, who notched 49 receptions as a sixth-round rookie. An undersized playmaker from the slot, Douglas also dealt with injuries at various times throughout the preseason and regulars season.
Smith-Schuster -- who could be in a healthy battle for a roster spot at this point in his career coming off a season in which he caught just 29 passes with one touchdown and a 9.0-yard average – also said he was excited to see the Patriots select a pair of receivers on draft weekend.
Certainly both Polk and Baker bring potential and upside to the mix, at a time when it’s never been easier or more common for rookie receivers to have instant impacts for NFL teams.
But stacked?
Smith-Schuster’s optimism and professionalism as the aged veteran in the room is admirable. And there is reason for hope that Osborn, Polk and Baker bring to new potential to the unit, while improved health could bring more production overall from some of the returning options. Maybe New England won’t have to lean on a running back lead the team in receptions for the third straight year!
But stacked?
Sure there is the potential for the Patriots wide receiver group to ditch the “stink, stank, stunk” description that it garnered last training camp. One that was kinda proven accurate.
Sure there is the potential for a breakout star – be it one of the rookies, Douglas making the healthy Year 2 Jump or Osborn taking advantage of getting out of the shadow of Justin Jefferson.
But in a league where elite No. 1 WRs are all the rage, with contracts exploding into the world of what was formerly a stratosphere of only franchise QBs, it’s a bit much to say the Patriots WR room is stacked.