Three grabs for DeMario Douglas in loss to Bears

Douglas followed up his best game of the season with another best game of the season, as well as the third most receiving yards of his career. His touchdown was a nine-yarder in the second quarter where the Jets’ defense simply afforded Drake Maye too much time. Things could not have been going better for “Pop” until his fourth quarter fumble at the end of a 39-yard catch-and-run. He was the victim of a classic “Peanut punch” from behind. Rather ominously, he was not targeted thereafter, though the Patriots were also in ball-control mode as they worked on draining the clock. That today’s effort came as A.J. Brown was returning from a five-week absence was promising, but the reality is that Douglas’ big box scores are likely to remain pop-up efforts rather predictable and/or weekly occurrences. He’s a shaky WR4 even with byes and injuries in full swing.

Douglas had his first two touchdown grabs of the season as Drake Maye sliced and diced a lifeless Vegas defense from start to finish. Douglas was wide open standing in the end zone by himself for his first score, and broke out of a bunch formation inside the ten yard line for his second score. Douglas has run significant routes in the New England offense since A.J. Brown (ankle) went down to injury. When Brown returns — perhaps this week — Douglas will take on a smaller role in the Pats pass game. He should remain on waiver wires in most formats.

Douglas was second on the team in targets behind only Mack Hollins, who saw nine looks from Drake Maye. Douglas got open and made a nice grab for his 38-yard gain — one of the only big plays for the struggling New England offense on Sunday. Though Douglas is playing a decent snap share, he should remain on waivers in most formats ahead of the Patriots’ Week 4 game against Buffalo.

Schefter and other reporters previously called it a 4-6 week injury, which now seems unlikely. Schefter did add that Brown is moving “pretty well” and could come back on the faster side of his updated timeline. Still, it looks like Brown will miss at least half of the regular season. Romeo Doubs will operate as the team’s No. 1 receiver until he returns, though it will likely be a group effort to replace Browns’ production. Mack Hollins and Demario Douglas will also be more involved.

Douglas made the first catch of the game for the Patriots, but was silent the rest of the day. The 25-year-old is a low-yardage slot receiver who tends to get schemed targets when he is on the field. Douglas tallied the third-most snaps of all Patriots wide receivers on the day but will find it hard to achieve fantasy relevancy in an offense that utilizes multiple receivers in several different ways. Second-year receiver Kyle Williams also saw a pair of targets, catching one for 10 yards. Neither Williams or Douglas are anything more than deep league dart throws for Week 3 against the Jaguars.

Garafolo added, “MRI today after X-rays were negative.” That’s a good sign, but there is currently no timeline for Brown’s return. It will ultimately be a multi-week injury that could linger well into the season. Demario Douglas led the Pats with seven targets last night, though his looks are generally low-value check-downs. Mack Hollins and Romeo Doubs will serve as the team’s primary outside receivers until Brown is healthy. Hollins led the Pats in receiving yards at a modest 51. Hollins is worth adding in deeper leagues, but it’s hard to imagine him putting up anything more than WR4 numbers while Brown is sidelined. Doubs should improve in Week 2 after failing to catch any of his three targets versus the Seahawks. He will get another shot at WR3 numbers against Pittsburgh next week.

Seattle shut down the Patriots’ deep passing game, forcing Drake Maye to pepper Douglas with low-value check-downs. Douglas wound up leading the Pats in targets and catches. He finished fifth in receiving yards. With A.J. Brown banged up, Douglas could be in line for another smattering of targets next week versus the Steelers. Even with Brown out, Douglas would barely register as a PPR WR5.

A Seattle defender landed on Brown’s leg in the third quarter and the former Eagle clutched at his ankle as soon as he hit the ground. Brown eventually made his way off the field and limped to the locker room. He was listed as questionable for roughly a quarter, but the team has now ruled him out. The immediate worry will be that Brown suffered a dreaded high ankle sprain. That would sideline him for multiple weeks, though it’s too early to say much about the injury. Mack Hollins, Romeo Doubs, and Demario Douglas will all see some extra routes sans Brown.

Douglas appears set to function as a mainstay of the New England passing attack in 2026 after the team used him in a rotational role in 2025. Douglas last season had a lowly 36 percent route rate and was targeted on just 20 percent of his pass routes. He was second among Pats pass catchers in yards per route run, trailing Stefon Diggs. Callahan said so far in training camp the Patriots have “featured every possible pairing” from the trio of Douglas, A.J. Brown, and Romeo Doubs, “at various times within two-back or two-tight end personnel, meaning Douglas is not always in the slot. Douglas is, however, the most consistently available of those three. The Patriots are stretching his usage and route tree more than in recent years.” Douglas could be worth monitoring in deeper fantasy formats this summer if he’s going to see a marked increase in playing time and involvement in Drake Maye’s passing attack.

Douglas was, in no way, the Patriots’ No. 1 wide receiver last year. In fact, his productivity was limited by his slot-bound, No. 3 deployment. We suspect Douglas is most likely competing for the No. 3 role again, behind WR Romeo Doubs and wind-sprinter WR Mack Hollins, as the roster currently stands. Do not rush to conclusions about a breakout year from Douglas. For now, just file this one away and check back to see what Douglas is doing in the coming weeks. He has a long way to go before we can view him as more than a boom-bust FLEX.