Patriots WR Corps Ranked At Bottom Of NFL

The New England Patriots gave their wide receiving corps a much-needed facelift. For starters, they made a big splash by signing former All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs. In addition, they signed Mack Hollins, who led the Buffalo Bills in touchdown receptions in 2024, and drafted Kyle Williams out of Washington State in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

These additions add to a room that featured Demario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Kendrick Bourne and Javon Baker as the top targets at the position in 2024. And while the Patriots made some much-needed additions to the position, they still have a group with a ton to prove in 2025, and don't have many guys who have proven star power. Because of this, New England ranked 31st in PFF's rankings of wide receiving corps in the NFL.

"It’s almost a completely new group of receiving weapons in New England, making it difficult to truly assess the state of the team's receiving corps," Trevor Sikkema writes. "Stefon Diggs was once the NFL's second-highest-graded receiver (90.6 PFF receiving grade in 2020) but is coming off a major knee injury. Mack Hollins was a solid but unspectacular receiver for the Bills in 2024, averaging only 1.04 yards per route run (95th out of 112 qualifiers). Kyle Williams, Javon Baker, Ja'Lynn Polk and Demario Douglas will fight for the final receiver roster spots."

Diggs is the one proven superstar in the Patriots' group of wideouts. However, as Sikkema points out, the ACL injury last season combined with his age, are large red flags that could prove to hold him back. This means that someone else is going to have to step up. Williams is the most likely candidate to do so, as he caught 70 passes for just under 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2024 at Washington State. Even with optimism for the future, though, it's hard to rank the Patriots any higher on hope and potential alone.