Should Patriots Consider This Proposed Wide Receiver Trade?

Could a trade with a familiar partner give the Patriots’ receiving corps the spark it needs?

That’s what NFL writer Bill Barnwell proposed Thursday in a column for ESPN.com. One of his 15 suggested trade-deadline deals had New England sending Kendrick Bourne to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for Hunter Renfrow and a 2025 seventh-round draft pick.

“Renfrow appeared like the sort of player the Patriots could target when he entered the league,” Bourne wrote, “and after years of whiffing on wide receiver additions, they desperately need someone who can beat man coverage and give quarterback Mac Jones a reliable safety valve. (Jakobi) Meyers was that player for the Pats in years past. Bourne, who had a solid season under (Josh) McDaniels in 2021, would get his own fresh start after losing his role in 2022 and struggling to make a consistent impact this season.

“The Patriots aren’t in a position to be adding players solely for the purpose of winning in 2023, but this would be a trade about keeping (Mac) Jones’ head above water during the second half of the campaign and seeing if they can get more out of Renfrow than the Raiders have.”

The proposed trade would reunite Bourne with McDaniels — the former New England offensive coordinator and current Raiders head coach — and give the Patriots a chance to work with a player who, as Barnwell noted, was widely viewed as an obvious Pats fit ahead of the 2019 NFL Draft.

But would it be a smart swap for Bill Belichick’s club? We’re not so sure.

Renfrow was a 100-catch, 1,000-yard slot receiver in 2021, but he’s done little of note since McDaniels arrived the following season and currently is buried on the Las Vegas depth chart, catching just six passes for 59 yards through five games. If McDaniels has no use for the former Clemson star, why would Belichick?

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Adding Renfrow also might take snaps away from impressive rookie slot Demario Douglas, who’s been one of the few bright spots in an anemic Patriots offense.

The 27-year-old still could be an interesting reclamation project, but swapping Bourne for him feels like too much to give up. Even though Bourne has been inconsistent this season and hasn’t recaptured the form he showed during his breakout 2021 campaign, he leads all Patriots players in catches (18) and receiving yards (218) and is one of just two (along with tight end Hunter Henry) with multiple receiving touchdowns.

Granted, that says more about the overall state of New England’s receiving corps.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, whom the team signed to replace Meyers, has been an abject disaster, with a 14-86-0 line through five games and yards-per-catch and per-target averages that rank near the bottom of the NFL. After a solid season debut, DeVante Parker has six catches on 11 targets over the last three games and failed to crack 35 yards in all three. Receiving-focused tight end Mike Gesiki has 12 catches for 116 yards and had what would have been his first Patriots touchdown bounce off his hands during the team’s blowout loss in Dallas.

Rookie Kayshon Boutte hasn’t played since his multiple sideline awareness errors in Week 1. Tyquan Thornton remains on injured reserve, though he’s back practicing and could make his debut this Sunday.

The lone standout from that group is Douglas, who’s flashed supreme quickness and separation ability in his limited opportunities (10-143-0). But he’s in concussion protocol and might not play this week, as is Smith-Schuster.

The Patriots will get an up-close look at Renfrow — and Meyers — when they visit the Raiders on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.