The New England Patriots have lost WR Kendrick Bourne for the rest of the season with an ACL injury. With Bourne leading the team in targets and receiving yards for the 2023 season, can fantasy football managers expect that production to be distributed elsewhere going forward?
Let’s take a look at whether Demario Douglas, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, or Kayshon Boutte could have an increased fantasy value in the coming weeks.
Should You Add Demario Douglas, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, or Kayshon Boutte in Week 9?
Based on what we’ve seen in recent weeks, Douglas is the priority add for right now. More than 40% of his season’s targets have come in the past two weeks, and he has seemingly become the Patriots’ go-to option. His versatility and explosiveness make him a strong consideration to replace Bourne as the main fantasy option.
The Patriots’ WR room was a bit of a mess, even with Bourne and DeVante Parker. With Bourne now out for the season and Parker likely to miss Week 9, things become really convoluted.
Several different players have touched the ball from a pass-catching perspective, but no one has really stood out. There is an opportunity for more value to emerge.
Smith-Schuster has the pedigree and experience to be an option worth stashing. Parker could flash when he returns, and Boutte was a highly regarded prospect. For now, Douglas is the only priority add, but the others could be deeper league stash options.
Demario Douglas Fantasy Outlook
Douglas sits second among the Patriots’ wide receivers in targets, with 30 in seven games. The rookie WR has had some fumble concerns but has seen an expanded role in the past two weeks.
After seeing seven targets in Week 1, Douglas did not see more than three between Weeks 2 and 5, following a Week 2 fumble. But things have flipped in the last two weeks, with Douglas being targeted 13 times.
With those opportunities, he has posted nine receptions for 79 yards while adding another 24 rushing yards. Douglas has yet to find the end zone this season but has posted fantasy performances of 11.4 and 7.9 in PPR scoring, respectively, over the past two weeks.
Barring more fumbling issues, it would be a surprise to see Douglas’ role shrink again considerably. The sixth-round selection is an intriguing blend of all the things the Patriots like in their WRs with his speed and versatility.
JuJu Smith-Schuster Fantasy Outlook
Smith-Schuster currently sits just behind Douglas in targets with 26. However, he has turned those opportunities into just 15 receptions for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Once known for his explosive playmaking ability, Smith-Schuster is averaging just 5.9 yards per reception and 3.4 yards per target.
We saw him return in Week 8 after missing the previous two weeks with a concussion. Smith-Schuster was only targeted once in the game, but it did result in a touchdown, automatically ensuring his best fantasy performance of the season.
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Smith-Schuster’s 34% snap share was his lowest of the season this year, but that could certainly rise again with injuries to Bourne and Parker. But before you rush to add Smith-Schuster after his touchdown this week, it’s worth noting that he doesn’t look anything like the player we saw in Pittsburgh at the beginning of his career.
Smith-Schuster has not topped 30 receiving yards since Week 1 and has only had more than one reception on three occasions out of six games.
Tyquan Thornton Fantasy Outlook
We haven’t really seen Thornton’s season kick-start yet in 2023. After missing the first five games, he was active for two weeks before being inactive in Week 8.
Thornton’s season stats to this point amount to eight receiving yards on two receptions from three targets. However, we saw some promise from the 2022 NFL Draft second-round selection last year, when Thornton had three touchdowns and 263 total yards from 25 touches.
There was certainly room for improvement, though, with a catch rate under 50% as a rookie. Thornton is certainly not a priority waiver wire option, but he’s a name to keep in mind in deep leagues heading into this week.
Kayshon Boutte Fantasy Outlook
Any consideration for Boutte as a waiver wire option is largely based on the expectations we once had for him as a college prospect. Prior to his struggles at the end of his college career, Boutte was viewed as the next big thing out of LSU.
Boutte ended up being a sixth-round selection for the Patriots in the 2023 NFL Draft, and his opportunities have been limited since. And after some intriguing preseason showings, Boutte was active for the Patriots’ Week 1 home game with the Philadelphia Eagles.
In that game, he saw four targets while playing 69% of the snaps. Unfortunately for the rookie WR, he was unable to pull in a single one of those targets and couldn’t make a toe-tap reception late in the game to keep New England’s hopes alive. He has been inactive since that game.
Boutte is a super deep-league consideration at this point. The natural talent has always been there, and the Patriots clearly believe he’s worth the time investment. His chances of being active should increase with Bourne out and Parker in the concussion protocol. However, it might take a little longer for his fantasy relevance to come.
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