Patriots Coach Downplays Rookie Receiver’s Training Camp Emergence

A year ago, receiver coach Troy Brown tempered expectations for then-rookie Tyquan Thornton, who was enjoying an impressive first training camp in New England. It seemed like little more than Patriots-speak at the time.

Well, now we know we should’ve heeded Brown’s words, as Thornton still hasn’t lived up to his draft status. And we won’t make the same mistake with Brown’s recent comments about rookie receiver Demario Douglas.

A sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Douglas was the breakout star from the Patriots’ first 11 training camp practices. The Liberty product is small in stature but makes up for it with physicality, highlight-reel quickness and savvy route running. If the regular season started today, we’d put money on Douglas getting at least a few touches.

But the season doesn’t start today, and there is, in fact, a long way to go before it does start. Brown reminded everyone of that fact when asked about Douglas last Friday.

“I haven’t seen a big enough sample yet,” Brown said during a video call. “I’ll put him in a bucket with the rest of the rookies. They’ve got a long way to go. It’s a pretty good group of rookies that we have on offense, but they’ve got a ways to go and got some things to go through before they start to prove themselves worthy.”

“I haven’t seen a big enough sample yet”

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Troy Brown on Patriots rookie Demario Douglas

Fellow Patriots receivers coach Ross Douglas was a bit more complimentary, acknowledging Douglas “makes things happen” and “makes people miss.” But he also needs to see more from both Douglas and wideout Kayhson Boutte, who also was drafted in the sixth round.

“Both those guys, they’ve been great to work with, and they’re getting better every single day,” Douglas said. “They soak up knowledge from me and Troy and the veterans. They’ve just immersed themselves into the Patriots culture and it’s paying off for us. Hopefully, they continue to trend in the right direction and continue to get better.”

Douglas and Boutte both made great plays in Monday’s rain-soaked practice in Foxboro. They’ll look to keep it up Tuesday in the Patriots’ final tune-up for Thursday night’s preseason game against the Houston Texans.