3 Patriots We Need to See More of in Week 2
2. Kayshon Boutte
A sixth-round pick back in April, Kayshon Boutte had some serious expectations ahead of his NFL debut. The gifted pass-catcher impressed throughout training camp and the preseason, leaving him sharing duties as the team’s No. 5/6 wideout alongside fellow rookie Demario Douglas.
Fast forward to Week 1 when Boutte saw a ton of playing time in Bill O’Brien’s offense, logging 68.8% of offensive snaps. For reference, Kendrick Bourne was the only wide receiver with a bigger share that night (91.3%).
Despite the significant snap count, Boutte couldn’t do anything with his opportunity. He failed to catch any of the 4 passes thrown his way, resulting in a putrid 39.6 passer rate when targeted.
The one play that stands out the most is when the rookie WR failed to keep his feet in bounds on a catch with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game, frustrating the New England fanbase.
Here's how it sounded on the Patriots radio network when they realized the catch by Kayshon Boutte was ... actually not a catch at all and the THE EAGLES WIN
— Nick Piccone (@_piccone) September 11, 2023
sounded like the one dude was crying about Nick Sirianni but I couldn't quite hear him pic.twitter.com/sOpdrgDnWK
If he had better awareness, the Patriots would’ve had a shot great shot to win the game inside of the Eagles’ 10-yard line. Instead, it was a turnover on downs and we were left wondering “what could’ve been” if Boutte’s feet stayed within the painted lines.
One underwhelming game isn’t going to make me lose my faith in Boutte. At the same time, he needs to do more with his opportunities or they’ll be scaled back. Hopefully, we see more (good) from the 21-year-old this weekend.