FOXBORO — Outside of tight end, where Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper have been mainstays, the Patriots have rarely gone game to game with the same offensive lineup.
That could finally be changing past the halfway point of the season.
Drake Maye has been locked in as the starting quarterback, Rhamondre Stevenson is past an injury and his fumbling issues and head coach Jerod Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt both said they expect to see the same offensive line with left tackle Vederian Lowe, left guard Michael Jordan, center Ben Brown, right guard Mike Onwenu and right tackle Demontrey Jacobs this week, barring injuries.
The Patriots also haven’t been able to decide on a top wide receiver corps outside of “X” wideout Kayshon Boutte and slot receiver DeMario Douglas, both 2023 sixth-round picks. K.J. Osborn started early in the season and was replaced by Ja’Lynn Polk. Then drops and a concussion pushed Polk out of the lineup when Kendrick Bourne returned off of the PUP list. But last week, Bourne dressed and didn’t play while Polk and Osborn took on bigger roles.
“I think we’ve kind of zeroed in on who we’re going to work with on game day,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said Thursday morning. “I think that’ll show more as we go forward.”
Van Pelt hinted Thursday that Bourne, who has eight catches for 70 yards in five games since tearing his ACL last October, will be back in the gameplan.
“He’s a big part of this offense. Just felt like there were some areas where he could improve (Week 9 against the Titans), and that was kind of based on that, but he’ll be a big part of us moving forward,” Van Pelt said. “He brings a lot of energy to the field, his effort is exceptional. So that’s just the way it went last week, change week to week right now.”
The Patriots currently have seven wide receivers on their roster. Tyquan Thornton, a 2022 second-round pick, has been a recent pick to be a healthy scratch on gameday, and Javon Baker, a rookie fourth-round pick, has yet to make his first NFL catch, though he’s played four offensive snaps in each of the Patriots’ last two games.
Head coach Jerod Mayo said Baker is “still a work in progress” but noted that the rookie has been great in meetings.
Van Pelt highlighted Boutte, “Pop” Douglas and Polk when asked about the challenge of finding playing time for seven wide receivers.
“It’s our job, as the staff, to put those guys in positions to be successful. I think we’re getting to see that now,” Van Pelt said. “Boutte’s a guy that’s come on, played really well for us. Really happy with his play. Polk’s gonna get going again as we move forward. Pop’s Mr. Consistent. Makes big plays for us all over the field. So we’re getting close.”
Van Pelt went on to say that Boutte, who has consistently led the wide receiver group in snaps since Week 6, is the Patriots’ “most consistent receiver right now, making plays on the ball in the pass game.”
It wouldn’t be surprising if Boutte, Polk, Douglas and Bourne were the Patriots’ most used wide receivers this week against the Rams. Osborn did little in his bigger role last season and didn’t come away with a reception.