If Patriots fans were told at the start of the 2026 offseason that A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs would both be added to the roster for Drake Maye to work with, it would probably be fair to say that not many would believe it.
It has been several years since the team had a proven WR1 and a solid depth chart behind him, which is a primary reason that Tom Brady chose to leave New England after the 2019 season.
Hoping not to run into that problem under his watch, Eliot Wolf ensured that their young star quarterback would be surrounded by the caliber of talent needed to make the job much easier, and that has many already making some bold predictions about what the new offense can do.
Perhaps the most prominent of all comes from MassLive's Karen Guregian, who has the utmost confidence in the current receiving corps and Maye, and predicts the Patriots will see the return of two 1,000+ receiving-yard receivers after nearly two decades.
It would be a feat that Josh McDaniels has accomplished a few times in his career, most notably in Foxboro, and it would further prove just how good a hire Mike Vrabel and Co. were for Maye's development and the Patriots' progression at the perfect time.
The Patriots might be on pace for even more greatness of A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs rise to the occasion
In the midst of training camp, Guregian decided to make five bold predictions for the upcoming season, and one of the most exciting is that Brown and Doubs will both reach 1,000+ yards.
Stefon Diggs was the first receiver to cross that threshold just last year, after no pass catcher had reached that mark since Julian Edelman in 2019, and now Guregian believes the team has two capable receivers to do that just one year later.
It's been far too long since the Patriots had two receivers accomplish that in the same season, with the last time being all the way back in 2009 when Randy Moss and Wes Welker took the league by storm for the third year in a row.
Since then, the Patriots have had just two seasons in which multiple pass catchers reached the 1,000-yard mark, but it was always tight end Rob Gronkowski and a receiver, never two wide receivers.
That could finally change in 2026, and it couldn't be a better time for that to happen.
The Patriots are hoping to repeat last year's season by winning double-digit games and the division, with the Super Bowl as the ultimate goal. Although that's how 2025 ended, making the playoffs was the main focus because they hadn't done that since 2021.
But now expectations are even higher after overcoming the league's best defenses in the playoffs to face the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. It's not necessarily Super Bowl or bust at this point, but the roster is much better this time around, so it might get to a point where winning the Lombardi Trophy is the only goal.
No matter what, they're clearly built to be successful and win a lot of games, and that will become a whole lot easier if Brown and Doubs show up in this way for the offense. It would make Maye's job much easier, especially behind an upgraded offensive line, and would provide a lot of heartache for opposing defenses hoping last year's success was a fluke.
So fingers crossed that Guregian's prediction becomes reality.
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