It was hard to find a silver lining for the New England Patriots last season, the offense especially. They tied for 31st in points scored, 29th in passing yards, and 23rd in rushing yards. Besides Rhamonde Stevenson, there was not one player who could be trusted as a weekly starter in fantasy. The Patriots were truly horrible. Even though no player was truly spectacular, there is one receiver who gave the faintest shimmer of hope for the Patriots passing game: DeMario “Pop” Douglas.
2023 Season
Douglas was drafted by New England last season in the sixth round, making him a long shot to make the 52-man roster, let alone leading the receiving core. He took full advantage of every opportunity, eventually earning himself a sizable role in the Patriots passing attack. Douglas was a pleasant surprise last season and played well when given the chance. He was the 28th receiver selected in the 2023 NFL draft, yet had the 13th most receiving yards among his classmates. He finished the season with more receiving yards than Quinten Johnson and averaged more yards per game than both Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Dontayvion Wicks.
As a rookie, Douglas would end up leading the New England Patriots in targets (76) and receiving yards (561 yards) and also register the second most receptions with 49 (per PFF) . Even though he was New England's top receiving option, he has yet to score a touchdown. Those numbers are nothing to get excited about, but it was encouraging to see the kind of trust given to Douglas as a rookie and how he ran with it.
Fantasy
DeMario Douglas was essentially a fantasy non-factor last season, averaging only 7.66 PPR points a game, finishing as the WR64. Even though the fantasy production was not quite there, some behind-the-scenes numbers provide hope for this season: He averaged just shy of seven targets a game in his last nine games of 2023. In those nine games, his snap percentage jumped to more full-time. He went from being on the field only 23.8% of the time from weeks one through five to 75.44% in weeks seven through eighteen.
With an ADP of WR71, DeMario Douglas is a great dart throw pick. He is a young player with PPR value who has room for growth. New England's offense cannot be much worse than last year, and Douglas should improve with another NFL offseason under his belt. He does good things when he has the ball and should become a bigger part of the offense when 2024 rolls around.
While it is unlikely Douglas will blossom into a star, he has both the talent and opportunity to become a spot start, depending on the matchup. The touchdowns will come at some point, and DeMario Douglas should have no problem outperforming his ADP of WR71.
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