3 Patriots We Need to See More of in Week 2

New England Patriots fans have now had some time to process Sunday’s season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. While it wasn’t the outcome that most of us wanted, it could’ve been worse considering that the Pats only lost by 5 points to a team that just went toe-to-toe with the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.

As with any Patriots game, there’s a lot to dissect when it comes to individual performances. Some players proved their worth and deserve more playing time for it while others deserve to see their opportunities scaled back after leaving much to be desired.

With a massive Sunday Night Football matchup against the rival Miami Dolphins looming, here are three Patriots we need to see more of in Week 2.

3 Patriots We Must See More of in Week 2

3. Keion White

If you were box score hopping, chances are that defensive lineman Keion White isn’t a name that stood out in Week 1. After all, this year’s 46th overall selection didn’t record a single tackle in his NFL debut.

But as we all know, the box score doesn’t exactly tell the entire story.

White made his presence felt throughout the night, putting pressure on Eagles QB Jalen Hurts from the get-go. The rookie defender dazzled Patriots fans with how he handled offensive tackle Lane Johnson, who’s been named All-Pro in each of the last two seasons.

By the time the smoke cleared, White had racked up 4 pressures on 13 pass-rush attempts, finishing second only to Matthew Judon’s 6. He also finished with 4 QB Hurries while his 70.3 pass-rush grade was third-best on the team, per Pro Football Focus.

After the Dolphins just racked up 466 passing yards and 3 touchdowns through the air in Week 1, the Patriots must have White on the field more often than not. I understand that Bill Belichick isn’t always willing to give a lot of responsibilities to rookies, but White is a special case who needs those extra reps if New England wants to make Tua Tagovailoa’s life hell.

All I know is that if White doesn’t get a bigger opportunity to showcase his ceiling come Sunday night, I and many Patriots fans will be left with a lot of questions.

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.

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.

1. Kendrick Bourne

With DeVante Parker missing Week 1 due to a knee injury, the Patriots looked to Kendrick Bourne as the team’s WR2 behind JuJu Smith-Schuster.

On one hand, Bourne delivered by turning 11 targets into 6 catches for 64 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Without his efforts, chances are New England wouldn’t have had a chance to win the game.

On the other, his performance wasn’t without some flaws. Bourne’s biggest mistake of the night came in the first quarter when he failed to make a catch on third-and-13 in traffic, resulting in the ball bouncing right to Eagles cornerback Darius Slay, who returned the interception 70 yards for a pick-six.

Although I won’t let Bourne’s mistake completely take away from the positives, he needs to be better in those key moments. The pick-six wound up being the difference-maker after 60 minutes, and it’ll be interesting to see how the loss affects New England’s spot in the standings once the playoffs roll around.

Nevertheless, Bourne showed a lot of upside and deserves to be featured going forward. At the same time, it’s hard imagining him seeing double-digit targets all that often, especially once Parker returns and Smith-Schuster gets his feet under him.

If Bourne proves in Week 2 that he can be the version of himself that found the end zone twice in Week 1, the future of the Pats’ offense looks bright this year. However, if he winds up being the version of himself that can’t make those clutch catches, don’t count on him being as much of a focal point as time goes on.

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