Sixth-round wide receiver Demario Douglas has arguably been the most impressive rookie at Patriots training camp this summer.
He’s been healthy, consistent and productive on the practice field from the opening day of camp through this week, maybe even as much as any veteran player on the roster.
As such, “Pop” Douglas has been one of the more popular talking points in New England, be it with fans, teammates or media.
Yet, through a pair of preseason games, Douglas has barely been on the field.
During the Gillette Stadium opener against the Texans, a game in which players with less experience got the bulk of the reps, Douglas took the turf for a mere three snaps. He wasn’t targeted on his two offensive plays, and registered a fair catch in punt return duty.
This past Saturday night, a game in which starters and key projected contributors saw the early action for both teams in Green Bay, Douglas logged three offensive snaps against the Packers. He turned those measly three plays into two catches on two targets totaling 17 yards.
So what gives? Why didn’t Douglas play with the less experienced players against Houston, when by comparison fellow sixth-round rookie Kayshon Boutte logged 32 offensive snaps?
If Douglas has shown himself as higher-caliber player in practice reps worthy of “first-team” action, then why didn’t he get more of that against Green Bay, when by comparison JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kendrick Bourne and DeVante Parker saw between 15 and 17 snaps each?
Douglas’ usage on the game field this summer is curious at the very least and maybe somewhat intentionally misleading.
The most logical if potentially ill-conceived explanation for Douglas’ limited preseason game action is that Bill Belichick, Bill O’Brien and the New England staff already feel like they know what they have in the young slot option. Maybe they’ve seen enough on the practice field, including work with Mac Jones and joint action with (against?) the Packers, to have confidence in what the lightning-quick Liberty product can do and provide the new-look New England offense with his classic slot skills.
Maybe.
But how can they be so sure? How can they be so confident that Douglas couldn’t use more live game reps to get his feet even wetter?
Usually a player is “hidden” from preseason game film when a team wants to try to sneak that player onto the practice squad. But “hidden” from making the roster? Hidden from having a potentially classic and significant role in the opener against the Eagles?
Even if O’Brien slots Douglas in for 10 targets in the slot against Philly, is this risk of not getting him up to full preseason speed worth the couple snaps it takes the Eagles to figure out there is a talented rookie on the field in the first quarter of the first week of action?
Plus, let’s not forget that longtime Belichick protégé and short time offensive expert Matt Patricia is part of the Philadelphia defensive coaching staff preparing for the opener. If there is one person who won’t be caught off guard by Douglas’ possible contributing role, one person who’ll be well aware of the practice reports, blogs and hype surrounding the slot target this summer, it will be Patricia.
And what’s the downside of Douglas’ limited game work this August? See: Sudfeld, Zach. The undrafted rookie made the New England roster in 2013 after a solid summer of work, only to fall apart once he hit the regular season game field. His Patriots’ career lasted a mere three games as he created more interceptions for the other team (1) than he had catches in a New England uniform (0).
Douglas has unquestionably been one of the best stories of the summer in New England. He’s a classic training camp tale of the undersized (5-8, 192) late-round pick (210 overall) making a name for himself with his work ethic, skills and attitude.
Douglas has indeed earned a spot on the New England roster and probably a role on the offense from day 1 of his NFL career.
But that doesn’t mean he’s 2007 Randy Moss, missing the preseason only to unveil otherworldly production on the seemingly unsuspecting Jets on opening day.
Douglas is a good young talent who’s taken full advantage of his summer opportunities. But getting him a few more August chances to continue to do that would probably be in his best interests and his team’s. It almost certainly couldn’t hurt.