Jerod Mayo is taking over in New England, and it’s a fixer-upper. Certainly on the offensive side of the ball. The Patriots scored only 25 touchdowns last year, more than only the Jets and Panthers.
With the receiving stats in front of me, I notice that the Patriots were the only team that not only didn’t have a 1,000-yard receiver but also didn’t have a pair who reached that level. (Demario Douglas finished with 561 yards, while Kendrick Bourne closed at 406, for a combined total of 967 yards.)
Pretty lackluster. Since the league moved to eight divisions in 2002, this has happened only 33 times.
TEAMS WITHOUT A PAIR OF WR REACHING 1,000 YARDS | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Tm | Tm leader | Receiving | Next best | Receiving |
2002 | Ari. | David Boston | 32-512-1 | Frank Sanders | 34-400-2 |
2003 | Det. | Az-Zahir Hakim | 49-449-4 | Bill Schroeder | 36-397-2 |
2004 | Balt. | Travis Taylor | 34-421-0 | Kevin Johnson | 35-373-1 |
2004 | Atl. | Peerless Price | 45-575-3 | Dez White | 30-370-2 |
2006 | Atl. | Roddy White | 30-506-0 | Michael Jenkins | 39-436-7 |
2007 | S.D. | Vincent Jackson | 41-623-3 | Craig Davis | 20-188-1 |
2007 | Mia. | Marty Booker | 50-556-1 | Ted Ginn | 34-420-2 |
2008 | Oak. | Johnnie Lee Higgins | 22-366-4 | Chaz Schilens | 15-226-2 |
2008 | Sea. | Bobby Engram | 47-489-0 | Deion Branch | 30-412-4 |
2009 | Cle. | Mo. Massaquoi | 34-624-3 | Mike Furrey | 23-170-0 |
2009 | Oak. | Louis Murphy | 34-521-4 | Chaz Schilens | 29-365-2 |
2009 | St.L. | Donnie Avery | 47-589-5 | Danny Amendola | 43-326-1 |
2009 | K.C. | Dwayne Bowe | 47-589-4 | Bobby Wade | 36-367-2 |
2009 | T.B. | Antonio Bryant | 39-600-4 | Maurice Stovall | 24-366-1 |
2010 | Cle. | Mo. Massaquoi | 36-483-2 | Chansi Stuckey | 40-346-0 |
2011 | Jac. | Mike Thomas | 44-415-1 | Jason Hill | 25-367-3 |
2011 | St.L. | Brandon Gibson | 36-431-1 | Danario Alexander | 26-431-2 |
2013 | NYJ | Jeremy Kerley | 43-523-3 | Santonio Holmes | 23-456-1 |
2013 | St.L. | Chris Givens | 34-569-0 | Tavon Austin | 40-418-4 |
2015 | Ten. | Do. Green-Beckham | 32-549-4 | Harry Douglas | 36-411-2 |
2017 | Buff. | Zay Jones | 27-316-2 | Jordan Matthews | 25-282-1 |
2017 | Cle. | Ricardo Louis | 27-357-0 | Josh Gordon | 18-335-1 |
2017 | Chi. | Kendall Wright | 59-614-1 | Josh Bellamy | 24-376-1 |
2018 | Was. | Josh Doctson | 44-532-2 | Jamison Crowder | 29-388-2 |
2018 | S.F. | Kendrick Bourne | 42-487-4 | Dante Pettis | 27-467-5 |
2019 | Phil. | Alshon Jeffery | 43-490-4 | Nelson Agholor | 39-363-3 |
2019 | Balt. | Marquise Brown | 46-584-7 | Willie Snead | 31-339-5 |
2020 | Phil. | Travis Fulgham | 38-539-4 | Greg Ward | 53-419-6 |
2021 | NYG | Kenny Golladay | 37-521-0 | Kadarius Toney | 39-420-0 |
2022 | Chi. | Darnell Mooney | 40-493-2 | Equ. St. Brown | 21-323-1 |
2022 | Balt. | Demarcus Robinson | 48-458-2 | Devin Duvernay | 37-407-3 |
2022 | Ten. | Robert Woods | 53-527-2 | Treylon Burks | 33-444-1 |
2023 | N.E. | Demario Douglas | 49-561-0 | Kendrick Bourne | 37-406-4 |
Of course, in our fantasy drafts this summer, we’re not picking what the players did last year. We’re getting what they’ll do in 2024. And with that in mind, it makes sense to also look at those struggling offenses did in their next seasons.
Below see the most productive wide receivers from each of those teams that didn’t have a pair of wide receivers reach 1,000 yards. Exactly half of those 32 teams had a wide receiver who finished with top-30 numbers (using PPR scoring). That certainly reaches the level of fantasy relevance.
Eight of the 32 teams (a quarter, if my math is correct) had a top-20 receiver. And only nine of the teams didn’t have a wide receiver ranking in the top 40.
It’s early in the process, of course. Who’s quarterbacking, and what kind of offense are they running? And the Patriots will be adding a notable receiver or two in the offense. But I would guess that some New England wide receiver will be in my top 40 at the position in July.
They’ve got Demario Douglas (pictured) coming back, and he had a credible rookie season. There was a point in the middle of the season where he caught 5-6 passes four games in a row.
—Ian Allan