New England

Patriots

PFF charts the Patriots’ use of tempo at just 2.4 percent last season, tying for dead last in the NFL. The league average was 6.27 percent and the Saints led the league at 19.2 percent. The Patriots averaged 64.6 offensive plays per game, just 0.28 above average. Playing faster leads to more plays, and more plays lead to more opportunities to score fantasy points. Hopefully, McDaniels’ preseason play-calling confirms his intended offensive change is being implemented.

The Patriots drafted Polk in the 2024 NFL Draft’s second round with the No. 37 overall pick after a successful college career at Washington. He caught just 12-of-31 targets for 87 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie. He underwent two shoulder surgeries the following offseason and was sidelined for the entire 2025 season. The Patriots traded him to the Saints in a September pick swap that year. Today, the Saints placed him on the reserve/retired list. New Orleans Football’s Mike Triplett reports that Polk had participated all offseason, but was surprisingly absent last Friday.

In other words, he actually practiced on Saturday for the first time. Jacas missed the entire offseason activity program with a knee injury that prompted the Patriots to attach a waiver to his rookie contract. ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports that Jacas was not yet participating in team drills. He’ll likely start the year buried on the depth chart barring some major steps in the next few weeks.

Larison, 24, was a 2025 undrafted free agent. He is apparently competing for a role as a kick returner as well as the backup rushing role. He will need to contribute on special teams if he is going to make the final roster. Lazar notes that rookie RBs Jam Miller and Myles Montgomery “have flashed explosiveness and lateral quickness,” and he thinks one or both could make a “push” after showing off burst in the outside zone scheme that the Patriots have been working on.

The report comes from team reporter Evan Lazar and is great to hear. Henry, 31, is entering the final year of his contract. The front office spent a third-round pick on Raridon, ostensibly hoping he would convince them that he can be the TE1 after this season. In many instances, that means late-season utilization. The fact that he is already competing for the TE2 role, and doing so impressively, can only be viewed as a positive. Per Lazar, Raridon “caught the eye on multiple occasions working in the passing game.” He showcased the requisite speed to get behind the second level, and his “ability to catch the ball in traffic” stands out. Raridon can be treated as a best ball TE3 at this time.

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.

It has not been an easy transition into the New England offense for Brown, per Callahan, who said Drake Maye — the league’s most efficient deep ball passer in 2025 — continues to connect with Kayshon Boutte for highlight plays in training camp. Boutte, Maye’s primary deep ball option in 2025, “has unquestionably been the most dangerous receiver in camp,” according to Callahan, while Drake and Brown have connected in just three or ten targets during camp. Miscommunication, Callahan said, may be a factor in Brown’s early struggles. It’s not a reason to panic for fantasy drafters, though Boutte’s chemistry with Maye could make Boutte an interesting late-round pick, especially if the Patriots are slightly more pass heavy in 2026.

“These are my guys,” Gonzalez said. “It’s hard to sit and just watch. I like to be out on the field. This is what I love to do. At the end of the day, I’ve got to get better for myself and for the team. I’m focused on being here at training camp right now, taking it day-by-day, and see where it goes.” Gonzalez has (per Robert Kraft) been offered a top of the market amount for a cornerback. We’ll see where this goes, but it’s great news for the Pats that Gonzalez isn’t holding in.

Jacas, a second-round rookie, recently signed his deal with the team and was placed on the NFI list shortly after. It was reported earlier this offseason that Jacas was dealing with multiple injuries, which resulted in him missing both OTAs and minicamp. We later learned that Jacas had a cleanup procedure on his knee, and it has been reported that Jacas’ contract also includes an injury waiver, although Vrabel declined to comment on that. Vrabel said he is “excited” about where Jacas is with his recovery and development, but it seems like Jacas has a long way to go before possibly getting on the field. We’ll likely get plenty of updates on him throughout training camp.

Speaking with the media on Monday, Vrabel said he thinks “a lot of things get fabricated, and people tell stories,” when asked about Brown’s knee. Patriots executive VP of player personnel Elliot Wolf said last month that Brown has managed a degenerative knee condition in one of his knees since he first entered the league, and he has appeared in 15 or more games in three of his last four seasons. Vrabel acknowledged that Brown won’t do “every single thing” in camp/practice, but the team doesn’t appear overly concerned about the recently acquired receiver. Brown has posted four straight 1,000-yard campaigns and has scored seven or more touchdowns in each of those seasons. He profiles as a fringe WR1/WR2 for fantasy purposes in his first season with Drake Maye.