These analytics show Patriots aren't using Bourne enough at all

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The New England Patriots are wasting Kendrick Bourne's talent.

That's one takeaway you can glean from ESPN's new wide receiver metrics report.

Bourne, despite not seeing the field much this season, leads all wideouts and tight ends with a 91 Catch Score since the beginning of the 2021 season, ahead of Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett in second place at 86.

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What is Catch Score? Here's how ESPN defines it:

"The assessment to catch and contest works in a similar way to openness," ESPN's Seth Walder writes. "Given the array of all 22 players' positions, directions and speeds, the model estimates the probability of a completion. If a completion occurs, the receiver is credited with the marginal difference."

Therefore, players who make a catch in situations where there was a low probability of a reception receive a higher score. Conversely, not making a reception in situations where there was a high probability of a completion drops a player's score.

"You can see some of the evidence of Bourne's Catch Score prowess in his box score stats," Walder adds. "Since the 2021 season, he has caught 79% of his targets. While his 9.2 air yards per target is not exceptionally deep, it's slightly longer than stars such as Cooper Kupp or Keenan Allen (Chargers), and yet Bourne has a higher catch rate than either."

Bourne played 53 percent of the Patriots' offensive snaps last season, per Pro Football Reference. He made the most of that opportunity by tallying 55 receptions for 800 yards and five touchdowns on 70 targets in 17 games. He was one of the Patriots' most reliable and productive offensive players, and one of the few who played well in the Wild Card playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills.

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This season has seen a sharp decline in his playing time. Bourne has played 23 percent (44 total) of the offensive snaps through three games. He had four receptions for 58 yards on five targets in the Patriots' Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

The Patriots have good depth at wide receiver, especially after trading for DeVante Parker and drafting Tyquan Thornton. Bourne isn't going to get 10 targets every week. But he's way too talented to see the field on less than a quarter of the team's offensive snaps. That level of usage is just absurd. 

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