The New England Patriots' wide receiver corps is a work in progress. Mike Vrabel brought in four new receivers this offseason, but none have truly stood out. This is evidenced by the team having four different receiving yard leaders in their six games.
The best of the bunch and the team's leader in receptions is Stefon Diggs. In the Carolina and Buffalo games, Diggs seemed poised to break out as the Patriots' consistently top receiver. Yet, against the Saints, he had only three catches for 28 yards while Kayshon Boutte led the way with five for 93. Rhamondre Stevenson and Hunter Henry are the other two who've led the team in catches in games.
There are a couple of ways to interpret this dynamic. The one constant, though, is the play of second-year quarterback Drake Maye, who is fast becoming an NFL superstar and is already in the conversation as a possible MVP. He's the key to all of it anyway.
Drake Maye is spreading the ball around a deep receiving corps
The most poignant aspect about the fact that no one receiver has truly emerged as a weekly No. 1 is that Maye is spreading the ball around. It's not hard to decipher why. He's throwing to whoever is open when the opportunity presents itself. Years ago, Tom Brady was renowned for doing the same, and Maye is no less laudable.
The prime mover in all this, though, is simply getting open. That, of course, has several factors of its own involved. First, Maye has to have time to pass if he's locked into the pocket as he has all too often this season. While there have been several programmed rollouts that move the pocket and take the heat off the O-linemen, there haven't been enough of them or other innovative plays.
Maye's been sacked 18 times in six games. That's three per game, and thankfully, it's an improvement over the average of four allowed per game earlier in the season. This shows improvement in the offensive line's pass-blocking. It portends well for the future, as the two rookie starters on the left side are expected to improve as the season progresses.
The receivers have to get open more quickly
In the two games in which Stefon Diggs caught 10 passes, he got open, and Maye delivered the goods. It's a clear meritocracy with no favorites. The way Maye has spread the rock around confirms that. Get open, and if he has the time or can scramble to create it, he'll get you the ball.
If there were any doubts about his talent, his 2025 completion percentage, even with a plethora of sacks and a still average wide receiving corps, should be dispelled. He has a superb 73.3 percent completion rate after six games. This percentage is often overlooked, but it's the most important quarterback stat, absent maybe touchdown passes or backbreaking turnovers.
Facilitating the receivers' ability to open is squarely in the court of Head Coach Mike Vrabel and Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels. The receivers' talent is what it is, mediocre. It's better than 2024, but it's still not where it needs to be. Thus, it's incumbent on Vrabel and especially McDaniels to retool the offense to get the receivers in space.
That has to include getting Maye on the move and implementing a couple of programmed runs for him every game. When Maye is moving, good things happen. It also requires plays designed with more deception to keep defenses off-balance.
McDaniels' vanilla offense doesn't take advantage of Maye's ability to run with the ball. His running game overall is also far too predictable. The runs are telegraphed, leading to lackluster running yard stats, as seen against the Saints.
Absent a trade for two to bolster the receiving corps (A.J. Brown would fit the bill), it's going to take maximizing the current receivers' ability to get open to continue to progress. Adding pass-catching machine Efton Chism III to the mix as a receiver will help. But in any event, the offensive design has to evolve, and it's squarely on Vrabel to ensure that it does.