Tag: Kendrick Bourne

Kendrick Bourne’s blunt response for lack of targets in training camp

Kendrick Bourne was honestly blunt with this response.

New England Patriots wideout Kendrick Bourne has gone from being the second-leading receiver on the roster to few targets and catches in training camp.

In a light practice on Monday, he didn’t even catch a single pass from quarterback Mac Jones. That doesn’t exactly bode well with the team in the second week of preseason and the regular season opener right around the corner.

Bourne finished the 2021 season with 55 receptions for 800 yards and was believed to be the team’s best big-play option in a paper-thin receivers room. But that version of the 27-year-old has been nowhere to be found on the practice field with this year’s roster.

When asked about the rapid drop in production, Bourne was blunt in his response, a telltale sign of a player adopting “The Patriot Way.”

“I’m definitely just playing my role, man,” Bourne said, via NESN’s Zack Cox. “Not trying to do too much, do too little. Whatever they ask of me, just go do it. If I’ve got to be on the bench, I’ll be on the bench. Whatever it needs to be. Everybody has that role, and once you can play in your role, that helps the team, without crying or being mad about anything. Just waiting for that chance and taking advantage of it.”

There are a lot of moving parts right now with the Patriots’ offensive situation still fluid, following the exit of longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Bourne should be commended for playing his role, but considering the impressive production he had last season, time will tell if it’s ultimately befitting of a player with his talent.

[listicle id=125241]

5 takeaways from Patriots’ annual in-stadium practice

5 takeaways from the Patriots’ in-stadium practice.

The New England Patriots were back on the practice field on Friday night for their annual in-stadium practice at Gillette Stadium.

There was a great fan turnout on a night where the team put on the pads and went through the entire pregame process. This practice typically serves as somewhat of a dress rehearsal, but things initially looked to be a bit more amped up in the early-going.

Players split up for a Team Blue vs. Team White matchup. Matt Patricia was calling the offensive plays for Team Blue with Mac Jones at quarterback, while Team White was left to Joe Judge and rookie Bailey Zappe.

It was the final practice of the week with the team slated to be off for the weekend before returning to prepare for Thursday night’s preseason opener against the New York Giants.

Here are five takeaways from the team’s in-stadium practice.

Patriots expect this small change to make big difference on offense

The Patriots want to move quicker in 2022.

The New England Patriots want to move quicker on offense in 2022.

Offensive tackle Trent Brown indicated on Wednesday that the Patriots have simplified the offense, and that should allow players to move quicker. His statement was echoed by wide receiver Kendrick Bourne and quarterback Mac Jones. They indicated there was more urgency on offense.

How, specifically, might the Patriots ramp up the urgency? Well, Jones said Wednesday that New England is emphasizing snapping the ball more quickly to put pressure on the defense, per NESN’S Zach Cox.

New England ranked towards the bottom of the league with 61.8 plays per game. That put them 22nd in the NFL, per data from TeamRankings. A quicker unit could help in a game trending towards offense.

It will be interesting to see if newer acquisitions could benefit from this offensive change in particular. Wideout DeVante Parker can stretch the field. Receiver Tyquan Thornton is known for his speed and ability to make things happen after the catch. Both of these skill sets have the ability to catch defenses off-guard in a quicker offense. Certainly, the newcomers will benefit from what Bill Belichick has called a “streamlining” on offense.

Time will tell how New England will adjust to this change, in what has been an offseason full of them.

[lawrence-related id=124551]

Patriots position preview: Breaking down the WRs ahead of camp

The Patriots are in a strange position of having too many mediocre and above-average receivers.

The New England Patriots are in a strange position of having too many mediocre to above-average receivers. Their depth chart doesn’t feature a top-flight receiver, but they have a group of five wideouts that might qualify as a WR2 or WR3 on most rosters. It will be an interesting — and perhaps everchanging — complexion of receivers from week to week during the regular season.

It’s possible the Patriots feature a different receiver, depending upon their matchup in a given week. One player could play 100% of snaps one week — only to play 30% the next week. But because they have that core of talent, the Patriots might have a handful of tough decisions, likely involving cuts or trades from the back end (or the top) of the depth chart.

Let’s dive into our training camp preview of the receiver position.

Every NFL team’s most underrated player heading into 2022

These players don’t get the recognition they deserve in the NFL.

The NFL has no shortage of superstars who are the face of the league. But there are plenty of impact players in the NFL who don’t necessarily get the recognition they deserve.

Whether overlooked or ignored all together, these players are significant contributors for their respective teams. They’ve had proven success but haven’t necessarily gotten the praise they deserve.

Our NFL Wire editors examined the most underrated player for each team heading into the 2022 season, highlighting why they’re deserving of recognition.

NFL analyst says WR Kendrick Bourne is Patriots’ most underrated player

Is the 26-year-old en route to his first 1,000-yard season of his career?

Kendrick Bourne was arguably the New England Patriots’ most important acquisition during the team’s spending frenzy in 2021.

Bourne, 26, was brought in on a three-year deal worth $15 million and he was alongside Jakobi Meyers as the Patriots’ best receiver. He grabbed 55 receptions with 800 yards and five touchdowns — adding on 12 rushes for 125 yards. In comparison, Nelson Agholor was brought in on a $22 million deal and he only had 37 catches for 473 yards.

Along with bringing productivity on the field, Bourne was one of the most energetic personalities in all situations. Football Outsiders’ Scott Spratt recognized the impact Bourne made and he named him the most underrated player on the Patriots in an ESPN column.

With a career high of 74 targets, Bourne has fallen well short of the 100-catch and 1,000-yard benchmarks that earn receivers the most attention. But not even Cooper Kupp or Davante Adams could match Bourne for efficiency last season.

The Patriots receiver led his position (minimum 50 targets) with a 30.1% receiving DVOA. And he ranked in the top 12 at the position with both a 7.0 receiving plus/minus — which estimates that he caught seven more passes than an average receiver with his distribution of targets — and 7.0 average yards after the catch.

The Patriots have a competitive receiver room with Meyers, Bourne, DeVante Parker, Agholor, Tyquan Thornton, Tre Nixon and N’Keal Harry all fighting for a starting role.

[listicle id=123698]

Pro Football Focus: Kendrick Bourne has most valuable veteran contract for Patriots

In his fifth season – Kendrick Bourne finished last year with a career-high 55 catches for 800 yards and five touchdowns.

The New England Patriots brought in a major addition to the team last offseason by signing Kendrick Bourne.

Bourne, 26, spent his first four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and he only surpassed 500 yards in a season one time. The Patriots were taking a risk by signing him to a three-year, $15 million contract — but, it worked out perfectly. He finished last season with 55 catches for 800 yards and five touchdowns.

Not only did Bourne add value on the field, he was a huge locker room player who lifted the Patriots’ energy in practice and games. New England spent a ton of money last offseason and Bourne was likely the best veteran contract that was picked up.

Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger put together a list of the best veteran contracts for each NFL team and Bourne landed on his for the Patriots.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the Patriots have a handful of smart deals to choose from. Edge defender Matthew Judon, tackle Trent Brown and safety Jabrill Peppers could all easily outplay their respective contracts in 2022, granted the discounts for Brown and Peppers also come with some risk, as Brown has had issues keeping his weight down and Peppers is coming off a torn ACL.

Nevertheless, Bourne was simply a slam-dunk signing in the 2021 offseason after he didn’t get the opportunity to fully display his skills in a crowded San Francisco 49ers wide receiver group to start his career.

The Patriots’ wide receiver room is now crowded with competition following the addition of DeVante Parker and Tyquan Thornton. Regardless, Bourne and Jakobi Meyers should still sit at the top of the depth chart.

[listicle id=123698]

The Patriots are using more cap space on WRs than any team but aren’t likely to have a WR1

The Patriots are spending BIG on their receiver position in 2022. Is it a stretch to think a WR1 will emerge?

You can’t say the New England Patriots have failed to put their financial support behind quarterback Mac Jones in his second season. They certainly have. New England is dedicating more cap space than any other NFL team to the receiver position in 2022, according to Spotrac.

With salary cap numbers, looks can be deceiving. So I’d like to also present you with a few other figures before I dive into what it means. New England is third in the NFL in positional sending at receiver, per Over The Cap. The Patriots are spending the 10th-most money in new cash (through salary and bonuses), per Spotrac. Suffice it to say that Bill Belichick has decided to make a substantial investment in their wideout position.

There’s no clear recipe to offensive success when it comes to spending at receiver. The New York Giants, Los Angeles Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams round out the top seven. It’s a mixed bag.

The teams that have successful offenses in that group are the ones with a No. 1 receiver — and perhaps more than one truly elite receiver. That’s what makes New England’s offense so challenging to project. They do not have a clear-cut elite wideout. Their group includes Kendrick Bourne, DeVante Parker, Nelson Agholor, Jakobi Meyers, Tyquan Thornton (rookie), N’Keal Harry and Tre Nixon, among others. Typically, I like to list a position group in order of how I think their snaps will be allocated from first to last. But in this case, I have absolutely no clue how the Patriots will divvy up their workload among their top five players at the position.

Bourne is probably the strongest candidate to finish the season as WR1, at least in terms of production. He demonstrated tremendous upside and versatility to play in the slot and outside. He was durable and played all 18 games (regular season and playoffs). He proved capable of delivering touchdowns (five) and big plays. He also managed an impressive catch percentage (78.6), which led receivers and tight ends. He has upside. It’s just a question of how much.

Parker was, for a short time in 2019, a bonafide WR1 in an offense very similar to what the Patriots run. He has been too injury-prone to be reliable, however. Even with that injury history, Parker has as good a chance as any receiver to be the top option — so long as he picks up New England’s offense.

Agholor flunked out of New England’s system in 2022, so it’s hard to think he’ll elevate into a substantial role. Meyers is a slot player who is productive but lacks elite size or speed. Thornton is a rookie, and the Patriots almost never see returns on investment at the receiver position in Year 1.

And because I’ve listed so many candidates — Bourne, Parker, Agholor, Meyers, Thornton — there isn’t likely to be a WR1. They will each eat into the other’s production, with the Patriots likely using different players based upon a different matchup and game plan. Teams may choose to put their CB1 on a different receiver in any given week.

The Patriots seem to be running a money-ball approach, with so much depth at the position that it makes life difficult for opposing defensive coordinators. The problem is that an offense can only use so many receivers on one given play. And the key to money ball is avoiding frivolous spending — and New England hasn’t done that. So if the Patriots don’t see a receiver take the alpha role, New England’s offense might be due for some issues — unless Belichick can use that incredible depth in ways the rest of the NFL has not considered

[listicle id=123698]

WR Kendrick Bourne returns, TE Hunter Henry limited at Day 2 of minicamp

Receiver Jakobi Meyers, a restricted free agent, participated in the just 20 minutes of practice.

The New England Patriots had their second day of mandatory minicamp and welcomed back receiver Kendrick Bourne, who missed the first session on Tuesday. He was a full participant, and contributed to the offense in positional and team drills.

The team had a handful of limited players yet again. Receiver Jakobi Meyers, a restricted free agent, participated in the first 20 minutes of practice but left to work on conditioning soon after. He and TE Dalton Keene head up the hill. Later in practice, Hunter Henry and cornerback Malcolm Butler also went up the field to step aside from practice.

Absent

K Nick Folk
K Quinn Nordin
OL Andrew Stueber
OL Chasen Hines
DL Carl Davis
DL Byron Cowart

[listicle id=123169]

Kendrick Bourne absent, Jakobi Meyers limited for Day 1 of Patriots minicamp

Receiver Jakobi Meyers, tackle Trent Brown and center David Andrews were limited.

The New England Patriots had a handful of limited participants during Tuesday’s minicamp practice, the first on-field session of the three-day mandatory camp. Receiver Jakobi Meyers, tackle Trent Brown, center David Andrews, cornerback Marcus Jones, running back James White and tight end Hunter Henry were among the Patriots who did not fully participate in the practice.

With Brown jumping in and out of play on a limited basis, the Patriots plugged in tackle Yodny Cajuste on the left side. Isaiah Wynn worked exclusively at right tackle, a shift for him. Receiver Tre Nixon spent most of the time filling in for Meyers in the slot with the first team. And without White or Henry, running back J.J. Taylor and tight end Jonnu Smith saw increased workloads.

Here’s who was absent.

Absent

Nick Folk
Quinn Nordin
Kendrick Bourne
Andrew Stueber
Chasen Hines

The team gets back on the field on Wednesday at roughly 11:30 a.m.

[listicle id=123076]