Rising star of Patriots offense snubbed from PFF's 25 under 25 list

Every year, Pro Football Focus releases their picks for the top 25 players in the NFL under the age of 25 for the upcoming season. It's a way to showcase some of the younger talent in the league and highlight those who are either already on the path to dominating at their position or expected to make a big jump sooner rather than later.

Given the current state of the Patriots roster and the general belief that it's incredibly underwhelming, there weren't many expectations that any player from the team would make PFF's list this year.

However, at least one player seemed like an obvious choice based on how well they played as a rookie in 2023, yet his name is mysteriously missing and not even listed as an honorable mention. And who might that be? None other than wide receiver DeMario Douglas.

DeMario Douglas was snubbed from PFF's 25 under 25 list

Despite the narrative that the Patriots roster is not very good offensively, they do have some talented players who are overlooked due to the team's lack of success. One of those players is Douglas, who had a breakout season as the leading receiver last year, regardless of the absolute mess that the offense was in totality.

The sixth-round draft pick wasn't expected to be much of a contributor when he was selected last year, as most later-round selections are. On top of that, there were concerns about his size, as he is only 5'8" and 192 pounds, which is a combination that has historically worked against receivers in the NFL.

He quickly dispelled all assumptions throughout the summer when he showed off his talents in every practice. Because he was so impressive, he earned Bill Belichick's respect and secured a spot on the team much earlier than most players have in the past.

Douglas showed even more prowess once the regular season began and became one of Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe's favorite targets, which allowed him to record a team-high 49 receptions for 561 yards.

Like former Patriot Jakobi Meyers, though, he is yet get into the endzone. But because he was such an explosive piece of the offense last year, he's expected to build upon that in 2024 and will surely get his first touchdown at some point during the year.

Because he's already proved he's an incredibly talented player with sky-high potential, it doesn't make sense for PFF not to include them on their list. He fits the criteria to a T and it seems like he could easily bump off a few of the players who did make the list.

Regardless, the hype around what Douglas will do during his sophomore season is high, and it continues to grow despite it being the offseason.

There's a new vibe in New England under Jerod Mayo, and the receiving corps has been training a lot together over the past few months, so they're bound to surprise a lot of people in the fall, with Douglas near the top of the list.

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