It’s no secret that the New England Patriots offense was once horrific closing season.
They had been thirty first in factors per recreation (13.9), 30th in whole yards per game (276.2), 28th in passing yards per recreation (180.5) and twenty sixth in rushing yards per sport (95.7). As if these stats weren’t tough enough to read, the Patriots had been shut out twice and held to seven factors or much less six times.
Sports Illustrated broke down one offseason want for each AFC East team and had including to the receiver room as the pinnacle precedence for New England. While Marvin Harrison Jr. is an alternative with the No. three pick, the Patriots should additionally add at least one significant veteran,” SI writes.
“There are a host of receivers slated to be on hand on the market, which include Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman Jr., Hollywood Brown, Mike Evans, Calvin Ridley, [Gabe] Davis, Odell Beckham Jr., Darnell Mooney and others. New England has to make a serious run at, and land, one if no longer two of these names to get the offense rolling again.”
Sports Illustrated also wrote the Patriots ought to cut receivers Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker and let Kendrick Bourne depart in free agency. Bourne showed promise with 37 catches for 406 yards and 4 touchdowns before tearing his ACL in Week 8
Signing any player on offense would address a pressing want for the Patriots, however after rookie receiver DeMario Douglas used to be the team’s main receiver with 561 receiving yards and running returned Ezekiel Elliot led the team with fifty one catches in 2023, it is clear including pass-catchers is nearly as a whole lot of a want as a quarterback.
Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins and Indianapolis Colts receiver Michael Pittman are the most fascinating options, as they’re both young receivers who can also solely be scratching the surface of their potential. Higgins, 25, has the conceivable to be a No. 1 receiver however is caught in the back of Ja’Marr Chase, while Pittman has proven to be a dependable target in spite of the Colts’ quarterback troubles for a great deal of his career.
Cincinnati additionally finds itself in a bind, as it has to determine if it desires to invest in two large contracts at the identical position. While the Bengals ought to franchise-tag Higgings, his long-term future is in all likelihood elsewhere. Higgins had at least sixty five catches, 900 receiving yards and six touchdowns via his first three seasons earlier than accidents confined him to forty two catches for 656 yards and five touchdowns in 2023.
Pittman has observed a way to produce in each of his four seasons in the NFL regardless of inconsistent quarterback play for a good deal of it in Indianapolis. In his final three seasons, he has had at least 88 catches, 925 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. With Pittman being the uncomplicated pinnacle receiving option for the Colts, it is a great deal greater likely they will do something it takes to sign him long-term to ensure second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson is set up for success when he returns next season.
Marvin Harrison Jr. would suit the bill as well for New England, but its wants at quarterback and on the offensive line could make taking him at No. three overall a little rich.
Higgins and Pittman have been every second-round picks, and that may additionally prove to be the high-quality strategy for the Patriots to tackle their want at receiver in the 2024 NFL Draft, even if they do signal a top-receiving choice in free agency.
Hollywood Brown, Mike Evans and Calvin Ridley would additionally significantly enhance the Patriots receiving room, though, at their age, it is extra likely they’ll signal with a group competing for a Super Bowl than one in the center of a rebuild and ought to begin a rookie quarterback.
If Pittman and Higgins hit free agency, they have to be atop the Patriots’ targets in free agency. If they can land one and a top receiver in the first two rounds of the draft, it would go a lengthy way toward fixing one of the worst offenses in football and setting up whoever is taking part in quarterback subsequent season for success
