Troy Brown will have a new slate of duties in his fifth season on the Patriots coaching staff.

Brown, who was New England’s wide receivers coach and kick returners coach the last three seasons, will be in a “skill development” role for the 2024 campaign, head coach Jerod Mayo revealed Monday morning. As ESPN’s Mike Reiss outlined after Mayo’s announcement, Brown will “work with skill-position players across the board,” similar to Joe Kim’s role on the defensive side of the ball.

The Patriots decided to go in a different direction with their wide receiver coaches after a string of underwhelming seasons from the position group. Tyler Hughes, who worked as an offensive assistant in New England from 2020 to 2022, will serve as the primary wide receivers coach, with Tiquan Underwood joining the staff as an assistant. Underwood was a Patriots wideout himself in the 2011 season and gained coaching experience with Lafayette, the Miami Dolphins, Rutgers and the University of Pittsburgh before returning to Foxboro, Mass.

As it stands, New England boasts a mediocre receivers group headlined by the recently re-signed Kendrick Bourne, second-year pro Demario Douglas and newcomer K.J. Osborn. But a very deep wideout class in the 2024 draft gives the Patriots a chance to bolster their depth, as does the trade market.

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