New England Patriots wide receiver Romeo Doubs is heading into a highly anticipated 2026 season. Sports Illustrated also has high hopes for the wide receiver, as he made a unique list last week. Sports Illustrated’s Mike Kadlick put the wide receiver at the 10th spot on the list of the top No. 2 wide receiver options in the NFL.
Doubs was one of the Patriots’ big acquisitions of the offseason. He came to New England in March via free agency. He is coming off a season with the Green Bay Packers that saw him tally 55 catches for 724 yards and six touchdowns.
Now, he will team up with A. J. Brown, something he seems very excited about. In the meantime, Kadlick gave a reason why he put Doubs on this list.
The 26-year-old has been a part of a crowded Packers wide receiver room since 2022, but still managed to become quarterback Jordan Love’s favorite target. In 2025, he led Green Bay in receptions (55), yards (724), first downs (41) and touchdowns (6) while showing off his ability as a solid separator, finding the soft spot in zones and making clutch-time plays, as evidenced by his 112.7 passer rating when targeted.
Now paired up with Brown in New England, Doubs should only continue to ascend as he enters his fifth NFL season.
Patriots Wideout Has Solid Advanced Metrics
It is very easy to see why the wide receiver would make this list overall. He has a track record of being explosive. That trend was no different in the 2025 season, and advanced metrics certainly tell the story. He had an average depth of target of 13.2 yards. This correlated with his ability to be heavily utilized in vertical routes and deep outs.
He also averaged 163 total yards after catch. This played into how he was able to make key catches near the sideline. On top of this, he was efficient as well. He had just three drops on 83 official PFF-tracked targets. Overall, he ranked 35th out of 81 qualified receivers according to PFF.
A.J. Brown was thought to be the prized pickup over the course of the offseason. It was evident that the seeds were planted early to acquire him, especially with an acquisition like Doubs. The latter should serve as a solid complementary receiver target. He should be able to get open quite a bit in this offense, as a result of defenses paying more attention to Brown.
Patriots Have Been In Position Before
The Patriots have had a solid history with number two wide receivers. Deion Branch and Julian Edelman both come to mind. Both wide receivers were Super Bowl MVPs. Branch recorded 328 receptions with 4,297 yards and 24 touchdowns during the regular season. Edelman recorded 620 catches for 6,822 yards. Much like Branch, however, he saved his best efforts for the postseason.
Now, Doubs will be looking to be the next one in line of strong second receivers. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has shown the ability to be able to scheme of claims for these types of wideouts. It would be reasonable to expect a bit more production from Doubs than he had last season. Time will tell how it all plays out. However, he has the skill set.
Unlike the Green Bay Packers at times, he will not have to battle against the logjam of wide receivers. That is a testament to the Packers’ wide receiver room and certainly not a negative take on the franchise. However, now Doubs has the opportunity to carve out a role of his own, for a Patriots franchise looking to cement itself as one of the top teams in the AFC.
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