New England Patriots: Kendrick Bourne is a crucial part of 2023 offense

The New England Patriots have been an absolute dumpster fire on offense during this 2022 season.

It’s gotten so bad to the point that Patriots fans, including myself, are asking for Bill O’Brien to leave Alabama and come back to New England to be the offensive coordinator. While there won’t be any short-term fixes to this offense, one long-term option could be playing wide receiver Kendrick Bourne more frequently.

Kendrick Bourne was very productive for the Patriots in 2021. He had 55 total catches and five touchdown receptions, both career highs for him. So why hasn’t he played more in the 2022 season? Good luck getting a good answer out of Bill Belichick on that one.

No matter what the reason was for this year, all I know is that Kendrick Bourne NEEDS to be a crucial part of the 2023 offense.

Kendrick Bourne is the best wide receiver on the New England Patriots

I don’t even know if this is up for debate right now. With all of the receivers the Patriots have, Kendrick Bourne is the best of them and the most dependable of them all.

Look at the rest of the wide receivers on this Patriots roster. Nelson Agholor drops receptions at the most crucial times in a game. DeVante Parker can’t stay healthy this season. Jakobi Meyers is a good slot receiver, but I’d still rather have Bourne for separation and deep threats. Tyquan Thornton isn’t there yet and Marcus Jones is more of a special teams/defensive player at the moment.

Bourne has proven that he can create separation, make tough catches, and be a legit redzone threat for Mac Jones. Just let Saturday prove it to you!

Yeah, Kendrick Bourne can do it all. He’s better than what any of the Patriots wide receivers can do. Now it’s just about playing Kendrick Bourne the right amount of snaps in 2023, right around 70 percent of the snaps!

Kendrick Bourne and Mac Jones chemistry can help the Patriots in 2023

It’s no secret that Kendrick Bourne and Mac Jones have a chemistry on and off the field.

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On the field, Bourne can extend plays, extend drives, and help the offense move the ball down the field. Notice how on Saturday against Cincinnati, Mac was looking for Bourne more as the game went on.

Off the field, Jones has said multiple times about how him and “KB” are really good friends. When you like your teammates, it helps with the chemistry; as shown by these two.

Now that they are familiar with each other, year three for both of them in New England should be the best one yet.

The bottom line on Kendrick Bourne with the New England Patriots

There’s going to be a lot of changes in the New England Patriots offense next season. Hopefully all of it for the better!

Whoever the offensive coordinator is for the Patriots next season, they need to make a deliberate effort to put Kendrick Bourne in more positions to succeed within the offense.

Besides the catches downfield, we see what Bourne can do in the screen game and with jet sweeps. The 6’1 receiver is versatile, fast, and effective when he gets the playing time.

Will we ever know why Bourne’s playing time went down from 2021 to 2022? Probably not.

But should we expect for Bourne to produce similarly to how he did in 2021 during the 2023 campaign? I’d say so! KB can play. Just let him go out and do what he can do best: help the team win!