Heading into this season, arguably the New England Patriots' biggest strength was their receiving room. For the first time in a long time, the Patriots had real depth there. So much so that the team felt comfortable trading Kayshon Boutte to the Houston Texans just before the start of the season.
But a lot has changed after one game. The Patriots are expected to place A.J. Brown on the injured reserve due to a high-ankle sprain, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, and he will miss at least the next four games. Romeo Doubs was awful in his Patriots debut, not recording a single reception and having an inexcusable wide-open drop in the fourth quarter (New England very possibly could have won this game had he made the catch). And DeMario Douglas only recorded five receptions for 20 yards in the Week 1 loss.
Mack Hollins was New England's best receiver in Week 1 by a mile, and while I'm sure everybody in New England loves him, it's a bit concerning if he's expected to be your go-to guy for at least another month.
The Patriots' receiving room has become a major weakness
To be completely honest: it doesn't look good for the Patriots' offense right now. It was already a controversial move to trade Boutte, especially so close to the season, but that risk hasn't paid off at all yet and looks even worse after Brown's injury. Plus, Doubs hasn't given fans any reason to feel confident in his ability to match up against the opposing team's top cornerback.
Given that the Patriots lost in Week 1 and are now set to face the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Buffalo Bills in their next three games, there's a very real possibility that they won't win their first game of the season until mid-October.
Part of New England's entire appeal this season was its new-look offense and how it can elevate Drake Maye's game, but that's not the case anymore -- or at the very least, it's not going to be the case for a while.
The Patriots' entire offense (which already needed time to gel because of the roster turnover) is probably going to be a shell of what it should be in Brown's absence, and given how poorly Maye has played since the start of last season's playoffs, it's unfortunate because he needs all the help he can get right now.
Maye went from what was going to be the Patriots' best receiving group in years to throwing to Doubs, Hollins, and Douglas, and trying to beat three teams that were just in the playoffs last season (and legitimate Super Bowl contenders this season in Jacksonville and Buffalo -- both games will be on the road, by the way). The season is obviously still young, but this is a big concern that might end up creating too deep a hole for the team to dig itself out of.
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