It's Early, but Kayshon Boutte is Dominating Patriots Camp and the WR Room Looks Crowded

I have to confess, I had one position on the Patriots roster all wrong. Were I a betting man, beyond all the responsible gambling I do on DraftKings for fun and entertainment purposes, I'd have wagered that Stefon Diggs would be back in New England for another season, and Kayshon Boutte would've been shipped elsewhere for an early Day 3 draft pick, and a contract extension at his new place of employment. 

But Diggs is still curiously unemployed and Boutte is still in Foxboro, despite and offseason of trade rumors which continue to this day:

... communication through this offseason with Todd [Downing] and myself, he’s a pro. He understands what his job is, and he’s gotten off to a good start. So, I’ve got a lot of respect for him for the way that’s he’s handled these different situations, and the conversations outside of here, and the noise that doesn’t effect his performance on the field.” 

And regarding his "good start" and "performance on the field," so far they have been outstanding:

There's an expression I like to use whenever I get behind the wheel of my eclectic Irish Rose's SUV and it automatically resumes whatever True Crime show she was listening to last: "It's always the person you most expect." I can't help but admit Boutte opening 2026 workouts looking like the best wideout in camp was most definitely the person I least expected. Which is a dynamic that's worth a hell of a lot more right now than any 2027 4th Round pick.

I mean, this is a great problem to suddenly have. Especially if you haven't successfully repressed the memories of all those Pats WR rooms where guys at the ends of their careers passed in and out of like like Grandpa Simpson:

Giphy Images.

The Josh Gordons and Mohamed Sanus and Devante Parkers. The current group not only looks good at the top, with a WR1, WR2 combo of AJ Brown:

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… and Romeo Doubs. 

And still near the top of the chart is Mack Hollins, who led all Pats wideouts in snaps last year. He finds himself in a WR room so crowded he's willing to take up the blocking tight end role from Julian Hill, who's out for the year:

Then there's Pop Douglas, who has an iron grip on the slot receiver spot that has been mission critical to this offense since before Josh McDaniels was shaving:

And some are even questioning if last years 3rd round pick Kyle Williams is on the bubble now:

MassLive -  With no competitive reps on Monday, it was a good time to get a better sense of the Patriots’ depth chart.

When it came to the Patriots receiver depth chart, one absence was noteworthy: Kyle Williams.

For most of the practice, the team split into two fields, with starters and some top backups to the right, and other backups and third-stringers on the left side. When the Patriots offense ran its 2-minute drill to end practice, they had six receivers working with Maye.

That group was Brown, Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins and Efton Chism III. Brown and Doubs were the first outside receivers with Douglas in the slot. Boutte rotated in with Doubs, with Hollins playing multiple spots and Chism backing up Douglas.

That rotation left Williams playing on the left side of the field with backup quarterbacks Tommy DeVito and Behren Moron.

Williams did struggle at times last year. Like a few rookies have in the past, he seemed to be directed where to line up by Drake Maye and his other receivers. There was a rep in OTAs where Maye underthrew him badly and got picked off, which makes you default to the idea Williams read the coverage wrong, which was happening last year as well. And Efton Chism did make something of the opportunities he got late in the season:

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But all this speculation wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for how well Boutte has impressed Mike Vrabel's staff over the offseason. One week he was going to Washington, then it was Baltimore, then the Giants. But he earned a chance to earn his job back. And is making the most of it so far. 

Yes, you can make a case that he's an X-receiver on a team that already invested a ton to get Brown to occupy that spot. But McDaniels has already run a lot of sets with both of them on the field at once. And let's not forget that despite everything he went through, facing thousands of counts of betting on college games while at LSU (Problems? Call 1-800-GAMBLER), he made himself into a legitimate deep threat:

In 2025, Boutte led all wideouts with a near perfect 141.4 passer rating when target on throws of 20+ yards. And there's no reason to think those deep passes won't still be there with Brown and Doubs to worry about, plus an improved run game thanks to a bolstered offensive line and Reggie Gilliam at fullback. 

We might be going from one of the weakest wide receiver depth charts in the league from about 2020 to 2024, to an embarrassment of riches at the position. There are worse problems to have.