After an impressive rookie season and a strong summer, Patriots slot wide receiver DeMario Douglas was a popular breakout candidate in a depleted offense.
But through two games, Douglas has just two catches on three targets for 12 yards. Held catchless in the Patriots’ Week 2 loss to the Seahawks, the 23-year-old receiver is on pace for a measly 102 yards this season.
Douglas’ lack of usage has become a full-fledged storyline as the Patriots get set to take on the Jets on a short week Thursday night, and quarterback Jacoby Brissett is committed to finding ways to get the 5-foot-8, 182-pound pass-catcher more involved.
“Obviously, he’s a dynamic player. And me as the quarterback, I have to find ways to get him the ball,” Brissett said Monday on WEEI. “But it’s definitely something that we’re looking at. I don’t want to get into the overreaction thing about why this or that is not happening. It’s the second game of the season. But, we gotta find ways to get him the ball. He’s that good of a player.
“Honestly, we gotta find ways to get a lot of our skill players the ball, and get them more involved in the game. So yeah, I gotta take responsibility for that.”
Tight end Hunter Henry — with 10 catches for 127 yards — is the only Patriots pass catcher with more than 36 yards. K.J. Osborn leads wide receivers with four catches for 28 yards. Rookie Ja’Lynn Polk, who has three catches for 18 yards, is the only player with a receiving touchdown.
Douglas declined to speak to reporters in the locker room following Sunday’s loss. He acknowledged that his lack of production Sunday was “very challenging” when speaking to reporters on Monday.
Both Brissett and Mayo believe it’s a good thing that Douglas is discontent.
“I’m glad he’s frustrated. If he wasn’t, that would be more alarming than him not getting the ball to be honest to you,” Brissett said on the radio. “You just explain it to him, you’re going to have those games where it happens like that.
“It’s the second game of the year. We’re still trying to figure out our identity and how this thing is going to play out as far as the offense. It’s a long season ahead. I told him, man, there’s 15 games left … it’s a lot of football ahead of us. Obviously, we’re still getting better as a whole, individually, as an offense. I’m glad he’s frustrated, but I’ll see how he uses the frustration the right way.”
Douglas caught 49 passes for 561 yards as a standout rookie through injuries and despite an early-season benching for fumbling. He had a slow start to the summer as he worked through a hand injury but transformed the offense in training camp upon his return.