Flavin Media

You can even look at overrating the experienced receivers all the way back to the final years of Brady, but let’s take a look at the rookie receivers who never panned out. There are three main ones, and it should give a tell as to why this offense has only recently been modernized.

N’Keal Harry: This prospect showed apparent ability in all areas, but he was always a jump-ball type receiver physically. He showed some signs of life with Brady under center, but ultimately did not have the burst that receivers need to break out, and this made things worse for a team that loved embracing what they had at the position.

Tyquan Thornton: Thornton was an attempt at breaking the trend of the slower physical receiver, but it was an attempt gone completely wrong in terms of route-running ability. The Patriots learned quickly that you can have all the speed in the world, but it won’t matter if you don’t have the ability to cloak the next move in your route.

Ja’Lynn Polk: This is an early take, as Ja’Lynn Polk can definitely still pan out, but this was a pick that, so far, was not made with enough awareness of the player’s makeup. Polk shows a little bit more capability to provide physicality and route running, but he needs less of a social media personality and more of a drive to help the team culture.

These players are attempts to fix the problem, but this organization keeps making picks that have one or two needed elements but lack another. It’s been whack-a-mole for the past years at receiver, and acquiring one outside of the draft at some point has to be a priority.