Previewing the Patriots wide receiver heading into his first NFL season.
The New England Patriots invested heavily in their wide receiver position this offseason, including in three rookie free agent additions. One of those is DeMeer Blankumsee.
Hard facts
Name: DeMeer Blankumsee
Position: Wide receiver
Jersey number: 30 (w)
Opening day age: 23 (11/27/2001)
Measurements: 5’10 1/2”, 192 lbs, 32” arm length, 9 1/4” hand size, 4.47s 40-yard dash, 7.03s 3-cone drill, 4.28s short shuttle, 34” vertical jump, 10’2” broad jump, 12 bench press reps, 6.93 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2025-) | College: Toledo (2020-22), Memphis (2023-24)
A three-star recruit out of Winton Woods High School in Forest Park, OH, Blankumsee chose Toledo over scholarship offers from Kentrucky and Iowa State. He ended up spending three seasons with the Rockets, appearing in 25 games and totaling 57 caches for 677 yards and four touchdowns.
Despite having posted the best numbers of his career the previous season, Blankumsee entered the transfer portal in January 2023 and took his talents to Memphis. In his two seasons as a Tiger, he played 26 games and caught 98 combined passes for 1,578 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Blankumsee did not hear his name called in the 2025 NFL Draft and instead joined the Patriots as a rookie free agent.
Scouting report
Strengths: Blankumsee’s game is all about speed. A good linear athlete who also offers some servicable change of direction abilities, he can get downfield and challenge defenses vertically. Even more than that, though, he is a dangerous player with the ball in his hands who can run away from defenders and break tackle attacks if need be; he makes good decisions with the ball in his hands and quickly turns upfield as a runner. He also has shown some good hand-eye coordination and body control, and that he can create late separation in his routes and adjust his body to haul in throws outside of his frame.
Weaknesses: Standing at 5-foot-10, pounds, Blankumsee is on the smaller side. He also is not the most powerful player, and can get overwhelmed when asked to hold his own at the point of attack both against press man and as a run blocker. He also has been up-and-down in contested catch situations as a result, and is less of a thrreat to break tackles through strength. Furthermore, he had some issues with drops and saw a combined 12 passes go through his hands the last two seasons. Additionally, he lacks any truly special athletic traits.
2024 review
Stats: 13 games (11 starts) | 706 offensive snaps, 1 special teams snap | 70 targets, 45 catches (64.3%), 677 yards, 6 TDs, 6 drops (8.6%) | 2 carries, -4 yards | 3 penalties (1 declined)
Season recap: Coming off a breakout campaign that saw him catch 53 passes for 896 yards and seven touchdowns, Blankumsee opted to stay in school for his fifth year of eligibility. The decision did make sense at the time — the arrow was pointing up for him — but it ultimately did not help him hear his name get called in the draft; he simply failed to reach the same levels in 2024 that he did in 2023.
To illustrate that development, let’s take a look at his yards per route run: after posting an impressive 2.15 the previous year, that number dropped to 1.68 during his final season in college (which was actually worse than the 1.91 he posted in 2022 as well). In addition, he had his worst contested catch rate (16.7%) and drop percentage (8.6%) since becoming a full-timer in his final season at Toledo, and also hyperextended his knee during a touchdown celebration against UTSA.
That does not mean Blankumsee failed to produce at a decent level. Serving as Memphis’ WR2 behind fellow future UDFA Roc Taylor yet again, he played a career high 706 offensive snaps and finished with 45 rerceptions for 776 yards and six TDs.
He also ranked ninth in the country with a 7.8 YAC per reception number and had some outstanding individual performances. That game against UTSA mentioned above, for example, saw him catch six passes for 142 yards and two scores in the first half alone. He also went 4-120-1 in his final collegiate game versus West Virginia.
2025 preview
Position: Package slot WR | Ability: Camp body/Practice squad candidate | Contract: Signed through 2027
What will be his role? Blankumsee spent most of his time in college in the slot, and he will continue playing a similar role at the pro level as well. He therefore projects as a backup interior receiver in New England, who will compete for practice reps and a roster spot behind DeMario Douglas — a package player whose primary value lies on clear passing downs.
What is his growth potential? Based on his athletic profile and size, Blankumsee does not look like the highest upside receiver coming out of college. However, his abilities with the ball in his hands could make him a volume receiver in the short and intermediate passing game further down the line. He may never become a WR1 in terms of target share, but he could very well earn a living as a situational WR3.
Does he have positional versatility? Even though he does have some outside snaps on his résumé, Blankumsee is not an overly versatile player at this stage in his career. The same is true for the kicking game: he did return five career kickoffs for an average of 16.8 yards early in his college career, but played only 11 total special teams snaps without registering any stats the last two seasons.
What is his salary cap situation? The Patriots added Blankumsee on a standard three-year undrafted rookie deal earlier that comes with a $841,666 cap hit in 2025. That number consists of a $840,000 base salary — including a $15,000 salary guarantee — as well as a fully-guaranteed signing bonus proration worth $1,666. Given that the deal does not qualify for Top 51 status, only that proration is currently counted against New England’s cap.
How safe is his roster spot? Blankumsee is one of 12 wide receivers currently on the Patriots’ roster and given his status as a UDFA, plus his seemingly quiet offseason program, might have a hard time making the team. Things can always change during training camp, but the introduction of press coverage, run blocking and special teams might not help his case either given his scouting report and college usage. The 23-year-old might have to aim for a practice squad spot.
Summary: Even though he is firmly on the roster bubble at the moment, there are some intriguing parts to Blankumsee’s game. The Patriots obviously agree or else they would not have signed him in rookie free agency. At the very least, he will get a chance to prove himself this summer and to prove that he does belong on the team or its practice squad after all.
What do you think about DeMeer Blankumsee heading into the 2025 season? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.