Patriots Insider Projects Team To Move On From These Receivers

The Patriots don’t roster any truly elite wideouts, but they nonetheless have a logjam at the position.

Stefon Diggs made the receiver room a bit more crowded when he signed with New England in free agency in late March. And a little less than one month later, the Patriots provided Drake Maye with another new weapon when they selected Kyle Williams in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Soon enough, Mike Vrabel and company will have to make tough decisions about who will factor into New England’s receiving corps to enter the upcoming season. The Athletic’s Chad Graff made his predictions in a column published Tuesday.

“This is probably where the most intense training camp competitions will take place,” Graff wrote. “Most teams keep five or six wide receivers on the roster, and the Pats will have a tough time getting down to just six. Diggs, (Mack) Hollins, Williams, and (DeMario) Douglas should safely make the team, but everything else is up in the air. The guess for now is that the biggest battle is between (Ja’Lynn) Polk and (Kendrick) Bourne. And the early prediction is that the Patriots bank on getting more out of Polk than Bourne, who will turn 30 during training camp.”

Polk was one of two receivers who disappointed as Patriots rookies last season. Javon Baker provided next to nothing for New England after he joined the team as a 2024 fourth-round pick, and Graff believes the UCF product will join Bourne among the odd men out.

Of course, the majority of NFL sports are earned and not given. So Bourne, Baker and everyone else who currently has a locker at One Patriot Place will have an opportunity to make their case to the coaching staff this spring and summer.