FOXBORO -- Phillip Dorsett has had a pretty charmed career thus far in terms of the quarterbacks he's worked with. For his first two seasons, he caught passes from Andrew Luck. For the last three days, since being traded by the Colts to the Patriots, he's been working with Tom Brady.
Asked for what it's been like sharing a field with a future Hall-of-Famer and five-time champion, Dorsett replied quickly.
"It's been great, obviously," he said. "He's Tom Brady."
Dorsett will have to try to work with Brady as closely as he can in order to get on the same page with the 40-year-old. The list of new receivers who haven't worked out in New England is long, and though Dorsett is talented enough to have been selected in the first round in 2015, he doesn't want to wilt in a new system with a demanding quarterback.
How does he prevent that from happening? Work. It will require study, he knows, but there's no substitute for on-the-field interaction. This offseason, Brandin Cooks could be spotted chatting with Brady at every opportunity, just to make sure he's on the same page with his new quarterback. Chris Hogan, who has been in the system for over a year now, spent an extra 45 minutes on the field working with Brady following the team's first practice after Julian Edelman's injury.
Those are the kinds of things Dorsett will try to do as he takes on a crash course in Patriots football.
"I'm just learning now," Dorsett said. "I'll learn a lot more. I'm getting reps in there now. The more I learn, the more reps I'll get."
New England Patriots
As it currently stands, Dorsett looks like the fifth receiver on the Patriots depth chart behind Cooks, Hogan, Danny Amendola and Malcolm Mitchell. Mitchell has been limited in practice lately due to a knee injury, though, so perhaps the speedy Dorsett sees time as the team's No. 4.
When it comes to returning punts, Dorsett said he would be happy to perform in that role if asked, but it sounded as though that's not something he has been asked to do just yet. Even if he doesn't factor into the mix as a returner, the Patriots have a handful of options in Hogan, Amendola and Patrick Chung.