Looking at the Patriots' current receiving corps, there is a lot to like about their potential, yet many questions about what the final group will look like in 2026. Players like A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins, and Kyle Williams are safe. But the rest of the group has been linked to trade talks for the past few months.
Besides Kayshon Boutte, who has been the prime candidate to be moved before Week 1, DeMario Douglas has also been in the conversation, despite proving to be a valuable asset to the offense since he was drafted in 2023.
At one point, he was considered the Patriots' WR1, although that wasn't exactly ideal, and he proved he could handle the spotlight in the way the team needed him to. The expectation was that he would remain a big part of the game plan under Josh McDaniels last year, only for him to be used more as a secret weapon of sorts instead.
The hope is that he will be utilized far more this fall, with McDaniels more comfortable and confident in what kind of player Douglas is, and, based on what the receiver told reporters, it seems like the offensive coordinator is ready to showcase him in a new way.
Although the wide receiver room is arguably improved from last year, using Douglas more would still bring them to another level in 2026.
It sounds like Josh McDaniels is ready to integrate DeMario Douglas more on game day
While speaking to reporters after mandatory minicamp last month, Douglas spoke about the advice that McDaniels gave to him during the offseason.
It's easy to take from those comments that McDaniels is ready to use him to his full potential and carve out a role for him within the offense, just as he should. There's a reason Bill Belichick drafted Douglas, and it's looking like McDaniels is finally recognizing why.
“He’ll say [be] more savvy. Go out there and don’t do what I see [on a piece of paper]. Go out there and add my swagger to it. He believes in me, and I appreciate him for that.”
This is the kind of encouragement we need to hear from coaches, and Douglas is the perfect player to receive it, especially after what most would consider a disappointing 2025 season.
He wasn't incapable of making an impact, and it's not like he performed poorly; he was just not given many opportunities to show what he could do, as he took a backseat to almost every other receiver on the team.
That will remain in place for Brown and Doubs, but Douglas has been on the team long enough to compete for snaps with some of his teammates, and it sounds like McDaniels has confidence in him and will ensure he is utilized much more in ways that suit him best.
We've seen what Douglas is capable of and the explosiveness that he brings to the offense, which he showed a lot of last year, especially during the game against the Saints. McDaniels will (hopefully) plan to give him more chances to replicate that this year, because the offense will certainly need it.
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