The New England Patriots are careful and intentional about how they spend their money. They paid tight ends Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry the exact same amount per year in free agency ($12.5 million), a clear message they were both TE1. They also paid receiver Nelson Agholor at $11 million per year and Kendrick Bourne at roughly $4.25 million per year. It’s clear who they thought would be WR1 in 2021.
Bourne, however, leads Patriots receivers in receiving yards and touchdowns — and, frankly, highlight-reel plays. It’s fair to say he has exceeded expectations. But there’s one category where Bourne has been particularly outstanding, according to Patriots receivers coach Troy Brown.
“I think his ability to run with the ball after the catch has been probably more than what I expected it to be,” Brown said Monday. “He has excellent hands and catches the ball well.”
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Bourne has 42 catches for 623 yards and five touchdowns. His yards after the catch are the most among Patriots receivers and second-most on the team behind running back Brandon Bolden, surely due to the team’s heavy reliance upon the screen game, which exclusively generates YAC.
Brown touted the value of having Brown in the Patriots’ position group.
“I didn’t know Kendrick before he got here and I just think his level of enthusiasm on everything he does for every single play,” Brown said. “From practice to the game to whatever it is we’re doing, the guy is always — he’s able to show us an unbelievable amount of energy when you’re around him. It helps the guys. It helps him. It helps us as well, because he’s so lively with everything that he does.”
Brown added: “We just look at the guy like, ‘Wow.’ Kendrick’s made some great catches for us. You just kind of go, ‘Wow.’ And you just wait for him to make some more plays the next time.”
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