High-Profile Patriots Rookie Flashes Potential After ‘Slow’ Start

FOXBORO, Mass. — Demario Douglas quickly emerged as a standout in his first Patriots training camp. On Wednesday, New England’s other sixth-round wideout joined the fun.

The Patriots’ seventh practice was by far the best yet for Kayshon Boutte, a former five-star recruit who landed in New England after a subpar final season at LSU.

Quiet for the first six days of camp, Boutte broke out Wednesday with a pair of impressive wins in 1-on-1s and his first reception from starting quarterback Mac Jones in team drills.

“It gives you a lot of confidence,” Boutte said after practice. “After practice, catching balls, working on things you didn’t do. I dropped one the other day, came back, same catch, made it today. Just working on things like that.”

Boutte acknowledged that his Patriots tenure got off to a less-than-stellar start. His most notable moment during spring practice was catching an earful from offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien over an alignment error. He also missed time with an injury and was a non-factor for the first week of training camp.

“I feel like as time went on, I got more comfortable. I feel like this is my new home.”

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Kayshon Boutte

Per NESN.com’s charting, Boutte entered Wednesday with just one reception on six targets across all competitive periods, with all of those targets coming from backups QBs Bailey Zappe and Trace McSorley.

“I’m kind of getting in the gist of how they do things out here in New England,” he said. “Started off slow, but we’re building up every day.”

Boutte still looks like a roster long shot at this early stage, but talent is obvious. He was the second-ranked receiver recruit in the nation back in 2020 and showed great promise in his first 1 1/2 seasons at LSU (1,244 receiving yards, 14 touchdowns in his first 16 games) before injuries and clashes with Brian Kelly’s coaching staff derailed him.

On Wednesday, Boutte flashed that potential by getting open against a pair of New England’s top cornerbacks. His two 1-on-1 reps came against first-round draft pick Christian Gonzalez and 2022 starter Jonathan Jones, and Boutte won both.

“My main focus has just been kind of getting comfortable around everybody,” Boutte said. “Different program, new people, new place, far from home. But I feel like as time went on, I got more comfortable. I feel like this is my new home.”

Consistency now will be key for Boutte, who currently ranks no higher than sixth on the Patriots’ depth chart. Veterans JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne and Tyquan Thornton occupy the top four spots, with Douglas — drafted 23 spots after Boutte in April — nipping at their heels amid an excellent start to camp.

Tre Nixon, Malik Cunningham, Ed Lee, Raleigh Webb and waiver-wire pickup Thyrick Pitts round out New England’s receiving corps.