March 15, 2026, 2:08 p.m. ET
What is a No. 1 wide receiver to the New England Patriots?
Not a dire necessity.
The Patriots had a No. 1 receiver in 2025 — Stefon Diggs. New England decided to release their No. 1 receiver on March 11, leaving them with a pass-catching unit now led by Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins at the position. Boutte, nor Hollins, approximate the yardage that Diggs leaves behind.
According to WEEI’s Tom Carroll, Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf stated that New England does not view having a true No. 1 wide receiver as a dire necessity to win.
“…The whole idea of the No. 1 receiver, how many of them are there in the NFL?” Wolf said. “Maybe half the teams have one. So I don’t know if that’s a prerequisite for being a good football team. In my experience, it hasn’t been. I think as long as you have a lot of good players and diverse skill sets, like we have, then that stuff kind of takes care of itself.”
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Diggs’ insertion into the Patriots’ wide receiver room in 2025 turned New England’s passing game around. The Patriots went from ranking dead last in the NFL in passing yards in 2024 (3,343) to fourth in 2025 (4,459).
However, New England moves forward after adding wide receiver Romeo Doubs in free agency. Doubs went for a career-high 724 receiving yards in 2025 for the Green Bay Packers. New England has, however, missed out on free agent targets the likes of Alec Pierce (Indianapolis Colts) and Mike Evans (San Francisco 49ers) in the open market thus far.
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