5 receivers the Patriots could have drafted instead of Kayshon Boutte

Xavier Gipson

This season, it was practically impossible to look good in the Jets' offense. Breece Hall was very impressive, but the passing game was a mess in New Jersey. But Gipson was a consistent performer for both the Jets offense and as a kick returner. He wasn’t even drafted; the Jets signed him as an undrafted free agent, and they paid him just $750,000 during the 2023 season! 

Even if he hadn’t been any good and had just turned up every week, that contract would still have been a great bit of business. But he was good, really good. Gipson averaged 10.2 yards per touch when involved with the Jets’ offense. He caught 21 of his 38 targets and even scored a rushing touchdown.

As a kick returner, he averaged 23.2 yards per attempt, and as a punt returner, he won the game against the Bills with a touchdown return in overtime. Only three receivers had more all-purpose yards than 1,127.  

Andrei Iosivas

Iosivas is a fascinating character. He was born in Japan to a Filipino mother and a Romanian father. Then they moved to Hawai’i, and he attended the same high school as President Obama. And as if that wasn’t enough, he graduated from Princeton with degrees in Political Science and Government. But not before he set the school record for Heptathlon with 5,715 points! 

He’s pretty good at football, too. The Bengals took Iosivas with the 206th pick, and he went on to catch 15 of 25 targets during the regular season, and 4 of them were touchdowns. He’s 6 feet 4 inches tall, and the knock on him coming out of college was that he wasn’t strong enough to win in coverage.

But his first NFL touchdown (that he caught on his birthday) suggests he’s just strong enough. 

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