New England

Patriots

The second-string tight end’s absence may open up more opportunities for New England slot wideout Pop Douglas. The Patriots also ruled out Dre’Mont Jones (shoulder) for Week 3.

Raridon worked off to the side yesterday and ended up being listed as a limited participant. He is not seen with the team again today, so either a light, limited session or a total absence is possible. Either way, Raridon remains firmly in the questionable column, though a second limited session would theoretically put him on track to play in Week 3 against the Jaguars.

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.

This is a bit confusing because Raridon suited up for practice. He did not participate on the main field, though, so Reiss thinks he will be listed as a DNP. A limited listing is possible, but we default to the ESPN reporter here. Raridon does not need to be stashed in 12-team leagues, but remains a viable stash in deep leagues.

He’ll miss at least four weeks; we’d be surprised if he played again this season after his leg and ankle bent the wrong way while T.J. Watt rolled into him in Week 2. Greg Van Roten took over at guard for the Patriots, who are not providing Drake Maye with the same sort of consistency up front as he had last year through the season’s first two games.

Raridon saw 11 snaps before exiting due to a thigh injury in the first half. He caught his lone target for 30 yards, fighting through pass interference for the grab. Raridon did not re-enter the game after leaving; fantasy managers should stay tuned to the injury report next week to see how major the issue is. If healthy, Raridon is worth rostering only in the deepest of leagues for redraft formats.

Henry was the Patriots’ primary tight end, leading all pass-catchers in targets on the day. He totaled 40 yards on three catches as part of a receiving-by-committee approach by the Drake Maye passing attack. His role is safe, despite Eli Raridon slowly taking on some more routes to open the season. Henry is a fantasy TE2 for Week 3 against the Jaguars.

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.

Hollins quietly led Patriots wide receivers in snaps in the first game without A.J. Brown. He saw just two targets on the day, catching both for a total of 18 yards in a subpar offensive day. The Pats pass-catchers are a mix of low-ceiling fantasy viability as Maye spreads the wealth around the different receivers. Better offensive days are ahead for the Patriots but Hollins is a WR5 play at best for Week 3 against the Jaguars.

Doubs followed up a rough Week 1 with a productive Week 2, leading the Patriots wideouts in targets, receptions, and yards. With A.J. Brown out, Doubs started and tallied the second-most snaps among Pats wide receivers for the day. The bulk of his yardage came from a pair of third-quarter chunk gains, catching a 29-yard pass early in the quarter and breaking free for a 63-yard gain later in the quarter. Between Drake Maye’s early season struggles and a spread-the-wealth approach in the passing game, the Patriots receivers’ ceilings are capped. Doubs looks like the best pass-catching option and will be firmly in the WR4 ranks for Week 3 against the Jaguars.