Wide Receiver Romeo Doubs, a new piece to an already injury-riddled New England receiver room, will miss the next four games, followed by the team’s bye in Week 11. He suffered the injury on his only reception of the game, a 42-yard bomb from Drake Maye.
Luckily for New England, Wide Receiver AJ Brown just returned from the IR himself. A pair that will benefit from Doubs’ abscense is Wide Receiver Demario Douglas and Tight End Hunter Henry. Patriots fans shouldn’t feel too worried however, as the pair combined for 11 receptions, 134 yards, and 2 touchdowns in Sunday’s win over the New York Jets. A source told ESPN Insider Jeremy Fowler that Doubs is hopeful to return in Week 12 against the Chargers, after the bye.
New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas put up a...
Fantasy managers may have been dropping New England Patriots...
New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas recorded...
A.J. Brown will be sidelined for at least 4 weeks due to the high-ankle sprain he sustained in the 3rd quarter of Wednesday’s season opener against the Seattle Seahawks.
This is a crucial blow to the Patriots offense as it appeared they were planning to feed their newly acquired star alpha-WR as he had 3 receptions on 4 targets for 26 yards in less than 3 quarters and was on pace for 9 receptions and 78 yards. He was also wide open for what would’ve been a 36 yard TD, but was under-thrown by QB Drake Maye. Fantasy football managers can take solace in Brown’s massive target share before going down, but unfortunately will have to find a replacement for this gaping hole in their rosters for at least the next 4 weeks.
The next man up in Brown’s absence is unclear, as Romeo Doubs had a truly abysmal game (0 for 3 and 1 costly drop) and Mack Hollins and DeMario Douglas are established role players. Monitor second year wide receiver Kyle Williams, who possesses the downfield playmaking ability to partially absorb Brown’s vacated targets. ~Jason Diaz
While negative X-rays cleared a worst-case scenario for A.J. Brown, the multi-week injury leaves the offense without its primary weapon for an extended stretch. Brown is staring at a multi-week injury that will linger well into the season. With Diggs in Washington and Brown hobbled, Drake Maye must now go battle with a truly underwhelming cadre of beta receivers.
Demario Douglas commanded seven targets, yet his low-value check-down usage caps his weekly ceiling in PPR formats. Mack Hollins and Romeo Doubs will step into perimeter roles, making Hollins a fringe roster addition for deeper leagues while Doubs attempts to rebound from a zero-catch opening outing. The only true playmaker left at wide receiver is Kyle Williams, who becomes a sneaky add in deep league and a must-stash in fantasy football dynasty formats.
The New England Patriots depth chart is shaping up and the positional battles appear straight forward. Kayshon Boutte and Kyle Williams at X, Stefon Diggs and Kendrick Bourne at Z, and then Demario Douglas and Efton Chism III in the slot.
It’s interesting that Boutte is listed ahead of Kyle Williams at the X spot, Williams has been drawing rave reviews early on in camp and will likely surpass Boutte eventually. Mack Hollins, Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker are competing for roster spots.
Diggs is the first Patriots wide receiver off the board usually in the seventh round, Williams and Douglas follow well into the 100s, the remaining wide receivers are mostly undrafted. As training camp progresses, expect Williams to earn a starting spot resulting in his price rising in drafts.
Author: David Leonard (@RealDelcoDave)
Since June 27th, DeMario Douglas has risen 12.4 spots in Best Ball Mania ADP on UnderDog. This full round increase can be attributed to some reports that have come out about Douglas being the most dynamic playmaker on the field during Patriots OTAs.
Sharp fantasy gamers have been on DeMario Douglas prior to this bump, however with Douglas going in the late 13th round you aren’t losing as much against the field as you may think. The overall benefit is that clarity has been provided to Douglas’s role in New England. What can be predicted further is that more positive news between now and September will cause Douglas’s ADP to rise. In the meantime, keep on clicking on DeMario Douglas at ADP.
Demario “Pop” Douglas led the Patriots in receiving as a rookie, and can be a target hog and safety blanket for rookie Quarterback Drake Maye in 2024. Douglas is undersized but explosive, and has made strides this offseason to separate himself from the rest of the receiving group.
While Douglas offers a solid floor for managers in PPR leagues, he projects as a player who will lineup primarily in the slot and not be a threat for many big plays. Douglas is most enticing in PPR leagues and non-best ball formats, and offers a bit of additional upside with his ability to return kicks in leagues that award additional scoring for return yards (SFB14.)
