The AFC-champion New England Patriots entered NFL free agency with several questions. The Patriots let their best wide receiver, Stefon Diggs, walk. That opened a gaping hole at the WR1 position in New England. That piece of the puzzle was solved on Tuesday, with news that the Patriots signed veteran receiver Romeo Doubs to a four-year, $80 million contract.
Doubs is coming off the best year of his four-year career. He caught 55 passes for 724 yards and six touchdowns as a member of the Green Bay Packers. He spent all four seasons in the pros with the Packers.
Now, he'll catch passes from Drake Maye, who is coming off a near-MVP season for the Patriots. So, was this signing and contract a worthy decision for New England? How about for Doubs?
Grading Patriots' signing of Romeo Doubs
In his lone season with the Patriots, Diggs was the biggest beneficiary of Maye's ascendancy. He led the team with 85 catches on 102 targets, turning that into 1,013 yards and four touchdowns.
Off-the-field concerns have haunted Diggs, which likely played a part in the team's decision to move on. As Diggs' career wore on, he became more of a possession receiver, catching far fewer deep balls than earlier in his career. Unlike his days in Minnesota, the embattled receiver has played more out of the slot over the last few years.
Doubs fills a very similar role. He played primarily out of the slot in Green Bay, working as Jordan Love's go-to receiver on third down.
New England had Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte, and Kyle Williams atop their receiver depth chart. All three of those players can stretch the field and provide Maye with a deep threat. But none are built to play inside.
From this perspective, the Patriots' signing of Doubs makes sense. That is about where the common sense ends.
Romeo Doubs is an obvious downgrade at WR
While Doubs has been a reliable, consistent receiver, he has yet to show that he can be a No. 1.
During his four years in Green Bay, the former fourth-round pick posted 42, 59, 46, and 55 catches, respectively. He turned those catches into between 425 and 724 yards. Those numbers are worse than every full season of Diggs' career, by a lot.
That is despite staring at a glaring opportunity to stand out among the Packers' receivers.
Green Bay was starving for either Doubs, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks, or Jayden Reed to stand out. But all Doubs proved is that he is a good possession receiver.
The Patriots gave him $20 million per year for four years. In contrast, the San Francisco 49ers signed Mike Evans to a three-year, $60 million contract in free agency. Evans is a proven, legit Hall of Fame alpha wide receiver and was paid like it.
Doubs is obviously not Mike Evans, or anything close. Yet, he got paid like it.
The only reason this contract is not a flat ‘F' grade is because of positional need.
Grade: C-
