Wide receiver rooms in the spotlight in Patriots vs. Jaguars
· Yahoo Sports
The New England Patriots played their first game in Week 2 without top receiver A.J. Brown, who was brought in to be the clear-cut go-to guy for quarterback Drake Maye. His absence has been felt, with the offense taking a noticeable step back from what they were last year.
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Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars passing game is looking very effective so far, aside from a late collapse last week against Denver, in which they only put 13 points on the board.
Let’s compare the two units.
The Jaguars’ underrated star
In Jacksonville’s Week 1 rout of the Cleveland Browns, Trevor Lawrence continued the trend from last season, as he looked the way of Parker Washington all day. Washington, a sixth round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, went to Penn State, where he was second on the depth chart behind Jahan Dotson until his junior season. It also took until his third season in the NFL to show how talented he is, as he led the Jaguars in receiving yards with 847.
But this year is looking like the one where Washington will put his name on the map with some of the best receivers in the NFL. Through two games, he has recorded 12 receptions for 181 yards, and has gotten into the end zone once. There is no doubt that Christian Gonzalez will get the assignment on Sunday, because the Patriots will need to keep him in check in Week 3 in order to slow Lawrence and the Jacksonville passing game down.
Other Jaguars’ wideouts to look for
In 2024, Jacksonville believed they had the next great receiver in the NFL in Brian Thomas Jr. As a rookie, the he had one of the greatest seasons by a first-year receiver in NFL history: Thomas Jr. logged 1,282 yards on 87 catches, along with 10 touchdowns. He became the fourth rookie all time to have at least 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns, joining Randy Moss, Odell Beckham Jr., and Ja’Marr Chase.
After this extremely promising start to his career, he just hasn’t looked the same. While he did start in two less games, Thomas Jr. only chalked-up 704 yards on 48 receptions, and got into the end zone just twice in 2025. The biggest issue last season was his drops. His 10 dropped passes tied him for second-most in the NFL. Thomas Jr. will still get targets from Lawrence, though, as he looked his way nine times against the Broncos last week.
New England will also matchup with a familiar face in Jakobi Meyers this Sunday. The 29-year-old Meyers was signed as an undrafted rookie by the Patriots out of N.C. State in 2019. Over his four-year tenure with the Patriots, he racked up 2,758 yards, with 359 of those coming from the hands of Tom Brady in his rookie year. The former Patriot was traded to the Jaguars at the trade deadline last season from the Las Vegas Raiders, where he signed in the offseason of 2023. While Meyers produced in his role with the Jaguars in 2025, he has yet to see much action thus far, with just three receptions for 68 yards.
Noah Cameron and Travis Hunter might get some action for Jacksonville as well, but both have been used as package players
The Patriots’ pass catchers
As alluded to earlier, it’s safe to say the high-ankle sprain A.J. Brown sustained has had a resounding affect on the offense. As much as Drake Maye and Brown exchanged comments through the media all offseason expressing how much respect they had for each other, that connection was only seen for less than three quarters.
In the interim, Maye does not seem to have a primary target. Maye spread the wealth quite evenly in Week 2 against the Steelers and no receiver had over five targets. The times Maye threw to Romeo Doubs, however, the pair was highly productive. After a disappointing Week 1, Doubs bounced back with 96 yards on only three receptions. It’ll be interesting to see if Maye looks his way even more in the second game without Brown.
Throughout the first two games, Mack Hollins has been one of, if not the most most reliable target for Maye. Hollins led the team in receiving yards with 51 against Seattle, with key catches down the stretch in the fourth quarter. While he’s not an every-down type of receiver, Hollins is dependable on “got to have it” situations, to go with his above-average blocking skills in the run game.
While being hyped as the slot receiver in the offseason, DeMario Douglas has yet to consistently make his presence felt so far. A similar sentiment could be said about Kyle Williams. Both came into the year as seemingly important pieces of the Patriots receiving core, and their roles are now amplified with the loss of Brown. With the Jaguars giving up 288 passing yards last week to Bo Nix and the Broncos, and 138 yards to Jaylen Waddle alone, this could be the game where Douglas and Williams make an impact for New England.
The Patriots would love to see their passing game become more of a factor than it has been up to this point. The large majority of the Jaguars offense has come from Lawrence airing it out. New England will try to step up their game to top the Jaguars’ passing, and ease the concerns of Patriots fans in the process.