Two-Time Patriots Super Bowl Champ Gives Advice To New England’s Wideouts

The New England Patriots have a couple of holdovers at the receiver position this season but are also depending on three news faces to factor — to varying degrees — into the offense.

JuJu Smith-Schuster was New England’s biggest addition in free agency this offseason while rookies Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte are expected to contribute right away after strong showings during the preseason.

The task certainly is much harder for Douglas and Boutte than Smith-Schuster, a proven pass-catcher in the league. But even veteran wideouts have struggled picking up the Patriots’ offensive scheme.

Chris Hogan, who played three seasons with the Patriots from 2016-18 and won two Super Bowls, has been in the trio’s position before, making him a good candidate to give advice to the newest Patriots receivers.

“The more you study and the more you prepare, the slower the game will be,” Hogan told Christopher Price of The Boston Globe. “If you don’t prepare, the game will be so fast and it can get away from you.

“Preparation. That’s the biggest thing,” he added. “Just be prepared. And don’t take for granted that every bit of film is on that iPad. Study the Eagles and what they do. For me, it was always about how much film I can watch. Not just turning it on and staring at it. Knowing everything I can about everything. Everything.”

Watching film isn’t the only thing Smith-Schuster, Douglas and Boutte can do. Hogan believes listening to the wideouts who have experience within the Patriots system will help ease their transition.

“First of all, it’s hard,” Hogan said. “When I first went there, I had Julian (Edelman) and Danny (Amendola) and guys who had been in the system and the offense. It was easy for them. And I had Chad O’Shea as my position coach. He was awesome. It was easy for them to sort of push me along and get me up to speed.”

Unlike Smith-Schuster, Douglas and Boutte not only have to acclimate to a new team but are also making the sizable jump to the NFL after the Patriots selected them both in the sixth round of this year’s draft.

Douglas, who turned heads with his ability in training camp, hardly saw any preseason game action, with the Patriots seemingly keeping him under wraps, fueling speculation he’ll have a larger role than expected in the offense.

That also means Douglas will have to learn quickly come next Sunday when the Patriots host the Philadelphia Eagles, who have one of the top defenses in the league, in the season opener at Gillette Stadium. Douglas will have company in that regard with Boutte being in the same boat, too.

“It’s one thing in training camp and the preseason, but that first game against the Eagles will be a bit of an adjustment for the young guys,” Hogan said. “You can never simulate opening day. People are going to be flying around, and they have to adjust. The guys who have been doing it have to let them know what to expect. It’s on guys like Kendrick (Bourne) to be able to tell them, ‘This is what we need. These are our expectations for the wide receiver room, and our role in the offense.'”