The New England Patriots need to upgrade their receiver room this offseason if they're serious about wanting to return to the Super Bowl again in 2026. A.J. Brown, Brian Thomas Jr., DJ Moore, and others have become top names rumored to be on the trade block, but free agency could offer their own array of choices.
George Pickens was already tagged, but the futures of players like Rashid Shaheed and Jauan Jennings remain up in the air.
One receiver that is also set to hit the open market is the Giants' Wan'Dale Robinson, and NESN's Aaliyan Mohammed suggests the Patriots could be his destination. His 2025 season was the best of his career: the former second-round pick from Kentucky eclipsed 1,000 yards for the first time in his career after having 1,451 in his previous three seasons.
His breakout was a welcome one for the Giants, who lost Malik Nabers in Week 4 with an ACL tear. Now, the former Kentucky Wildcat will look to cash his chips in for a hefty contract. Spotrac projects the receiver's market value at around $17.6 million per season, a rich price but not unreasonable given his age (25) and high-volume role (185 catches over the last two years).
Wan'Dale Robinson isn't the right fit for the Patriots receiver woes
There's no doubt Robinson will have a market in free agency. Between his age and recent production, he'll be highly sought after, but he shouldn't be a player the Patriots legitimately consider.
While 2025 was a great year for the Giant, he likely wouldn't move the needle enough in New England. His style of play, being an undersized slot, is very similar to that of Pop Douglas'.
In fact, Douglas, who is also 5-foot-8 and 25 years old, had more yards and touchdowns through his first three seasons than Robinson did. The former Wildcat's 2025 wouldn't be dissimilar from Douglas breaking the 1,000-yard mark in '26.
A player like Douglas had a key role as a secondary weapon to New England's offense this year. His 31 catches totaled 447 yards and 3 touchdowns, while he broke the 100-yard mark in a win against Atlanta this season for the first time in his career.
Robinson would be a productive player in New England's offense, but for Spotrac's projected contract value eclipsing $17 million per season, the price doesn't match the production. Similar to my earlier take on why signing Alec Pierce would be a mistake given his likely $20 million price tag, Robinson's production and skill set aren't so much better than Douglas' that it's worth handing out that rich a contract.
While Robinson is a productive NFL player and has developed into one of the league's better slot receivers, the Patriots would be better off relying on in-house options, like Pop Douglas and Kyle Williams, to fill that role and invest that money elsewhere or into a more premium outside receiver.