Patriots bolster WR room

Doubs projects as the No. 2 wide receiver on New England's depth chart after the team traded for A.J. Brown from the Eagles on Monday, Evan Lazar of the team's official site reports.

The Patriots signed Doubs to a sizeable four-year, $68 million deal early in free agency, but his stint as the projected No. 1 target for Drake Maye comes to an end with the team having traded a 2028 first-round pick and 2027 fifth-round pick in order to acquire Brown's talents. There's no doubt the transaction represents a sizeable blow to Doubs' overall target share, but it could also create more favorable matchups for him by forcing defenses to focus on a proven alpha receiver in Brown. Across his four years in Green Bay, Doubs averaged between 32.8 and 46.2 receiving yards per game and never topped 100 targets, so there's a reasonable argument that a true No. 1 role may have stretched him beyond his ideal usage. Even so, Doubs remains firmly entrenched as New England's No. 2 receiver, with Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, and Kyle Williams competing remaining opportunities.