The return of veteran Kendrick Bourne and emergence of Kayshon Boutte has prompted the New England Patriots to make a handful of changes to their wide receiver depth chart. Those lineup tweaks were on display during a 41-21 loss to the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
Tyquan Thornton, who served as a starting wideout in New England’s season-opener, was a healthy scratch five weeks later. Thornton’s benching came after he saw a consistent decrease in snaps. Rookie wideout Javon Baker was a healthy scratch for the third time this season. Patriots coaches hinted a lack of confidence in Baker, who is struggling with route-running and lining up correctly. K.J. Osborn, who the Patriots signed during the offseason, also did not take the field against the Texans after he was questionable with a shoulder injury.
“You can put it – it’s the same thing that we’re going through with the offensive line,” Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters Monday, per a team-provided video. “I think when I look at the film, it’s Boutte, it’s Pop (DeMario Douglas), it’s (Kendrick Bourne).
“We need the rest of those guys to step up and make plays.”
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Osborn has five catches for 31 yards in four games this season. Thornton has two catches for 27 yards in five games. Fair to think Mayo’s sentiments apply to rookie Ja’Lynn Polk, too. Polk suffered another drop Sunday and ranks fifth among Patriots in receptions (10) and sixth in receiving yards (78).
“I think he just needs to get over this mental hump,” Mayo said of Polk. “You’ve got to eliminate the dropped passes. You’ve got to be better at blocking, which he did a great job in college at that and at times throughout the season. He just has to continue to grow, and he has to work harder. He has to pay more attention to the details, and we fully expect him to grow into a receiver that’s dependable on run and pass downs.”
Douglas and Boutte took steps forward during Drake Maye’s first start. Each caught the first touchdown pass of their respective careers and they combined for nine catches and 151 yards. The second-year Douglas leads New England pass-catches in receptions (24) and yards (245).
Bourne has just two games under his belt since he returned from the physically unable to perform list, but it seems there’s little worry he’ll ramp up. He believes he’ll be back to full-go in short-order.
Other Patriots wideouts, however, are starting to lose their jobs.