For the majority of the season, the New England Patriots offense has been ‘subpar’, to put it politely. Some rough stretches paired with a handful of offensive regressions have left things doom and gloom up in the Northeast.
However, the one bright spot that has left a glimmer of hope has been receiver Kendrick Bourne, currently enjoying back-to-back double-digit scoring games and his highest output of the year since the Week 1 opener when he scored two touchdowns.
What really stood out for Bourne in Week 7 week was avoiding the infamous ‘Belichick Doghouse’ after fumbling against the Bills. Normally, we’d see players glued to the bench after committing such an egregious mistake, but Bill had Bourne right back out there on Sunday.
“I appreciate coach sticking with me,” Bourne said. “(He believed) in me. Even my teammates, them coming to me and just keeping me locked in and focused, telling me they’re going need me on the next drive. It goes a long way. So it helped my mental.”
USAGE IS BOOMING
To start the year, DeVante Parker, the presumed WR2, was inactive, which put Bourne in a near-every-down role. Once Parker returned, Bourne’s snap counts dipped to roughly 50%, and his route run percentage also took a sizable hit. Then, with other starting receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster missing the last two games, Bourne saw his usage spike back up to elite territory with 90+% snap and routes run rate.
It’s clear as day when watching the Patriots who the best pass-catching options are at receiver and who Mac Jones trusts. Bourne leads the team with 51 targets, the next closest being Hunter Henry with 31. He also leads all other receiving categories while currently being the 11th-best overall WR per ESPN’s tracking metrics, whatever that means. He also sits fourth overall in ESPN’s YAC score, citing his ability to make plays after the catch.
However, We’ve also done this song and dance before as Bourne is generally just good enough to get on our radars, while not promising to deliver top tier fantasy production. Regardless, he’s a top-25 WR in fantasy at the moment and should continue to put up stats as the Patriots offense looks to improve.
WEEK 8 AND BEYOND UPSIDE STREAMER
Do you really think a mid-season surge will come from the likes of Parker and Smith-Schuster? Me neither.
New England has an intriguing upcoming schedule with the Dolphins, Commanders, and Colts before the bye week, with the latter two being rather juicy matchups. Those three defenses rank seventh, ninth, and 17th in most fantasy points allowed to wide receivers.
Bourne sits at WR47 (-2 vs ECR) on The Wolf’s Week 8 Rankings — right in streamer territory alongside the likes of Romeo Doubs, DeAndre Hopkins, and KJ Osborn.
