We’re on to Pittsburgh.
That’s how New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye responded when asked about his disastrous finish to last Wednesday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and that’s our focus as we tackle another mailbag. How will the offense function while star wide receiver A.J. Brown is sidelined with a high ankle sprain? Who are the candidates to step up in his absence?
We’ll get to that and more as we answer your questions below. Let’s jump in…
Editor’s note: Questions have been lightly edited for clarity.
What role and snap share percentage do you expect from each wide receiver while A.J. Brown is out? – @32BeatWriters
I think that’s one question that’s on every Patriots follower’s mind this week: Who is going to fill in for A.J. Brown?
Brown played primarily on the outside as an “X” receiver in the little action he saw in Week 1, and the Patriots do have a few options there. Romeo Doubs has played on the outside in the past and could conceivably get more work out there. Kyle Williams, though he’s a more diminutive option, has been primarily an “X” receiver while on the field. Then there’s Mack Hollins, who ended up playing more snaps than any other Patriots receiver in Seattle.
My guess is that Hollins is the primary fill-in option for Brown on the outside. He’s not Brown in terms of being a consistent explosive play producer and contested-catch generator. But his length and fearlessness over the middle — not to mention the fact that he’s earned Drake Maye’s trust — make him, in my opinion, the most likely Brown replacement when it comes to that “X” role.
Tom Curran and Phil Perry break down all the big stories from opening week of the 2026-2027 NFL season. What have we learned about the Patriots offense and defense so far? How can they adjust to the loss of A.J. Brown, can Doubs fill his role? And who is the team to watch out for the in AFC? The guys break down all the week 1 action
Williams, with his impressive release package and deep speed, could see more frequent work with Brown out, filling in for Hollins (or playing alongside him if Hollins is bumped inside) to flash his burst off the line. Doubs, meanwhile, may be the biggest beneficiary of the targets left over in Brown’s absence if he can overcome what looked like a bit of a confidence issue in the opener. The team paid him for a reason and now has an opportunity to make him a focal point of their attack if he’s ready for it.
Exactly how much do each of these wideouts play with Brown out? That will change from week to week depending on the game plan and the score. The Patriots used plenty of heavier personnel groupings with the lead in Seattle, deploying formations with two backs or multiple tight ends on a regular basis, at times limiting the number of wideouts on the field. But it’s Hollins who feels like the next man up on the outside with Brown on IR. That’s how it played out in Seattle. He has length. He has Maye’s trust. And he’s spent years in this offense.
With nearly a dozen offenses scoring 30+ points in Week 1, Josh McDaniels is taking a lot of heat for his conservative playcalling in the 13-10 loss. Is the Patriots offense really that far behind, or could the Patriots and Seahawks defenses be far ahead? – @thebradwhitaker
I’d lean more toward the latter, Brad. The Patriots had a plan that had them in position to win the game, had they been able to take care of the football better in the fourth quarter. But let’s toy with the idea that they should have thrown the ball more. They did, after all, average twice as many yards per dropback (5.4 yards, including six Maye scrambles and three sacks) compared to when they called for designed runs (2.7 yards).
Two reasons not to throw more often would be how Week 1 ended and how the majority of the Super Bowl went. Seattle is such a challenging defense to pass against consistently. A lopsided game plan might be inviting disaster. That kind of pass-heavy attack would make life difficult for an offensive line facing one of the strongest and most menacing fronts in football. It would also put a lot of stress on Maye.
We all — or most of us reading this, I assume — remember Patriots game plans when Tom Brady and his offense wouldn’t even try to run it against a great run defense. But that was Brady, and that was an offensive huddle loaded with veterans who generally had years of experience in the offense and could handle the mental weight associated with running that kind of game plan effectively.
Phil Perry and Albert Breer discuss Drake Maye’s path to MVP consideration this year after losing A.J. Brown for at least six games.
The Patriots clearly want to be more of a threat when they run the football this season. They added tight ends. They signed a fullback. But if they go up against lesser-talented defenses and continuously try to run the football when it’s not yielding much in the way of success, then I think it’d make sense to look at the plan and wonder if that kind of approach was best. No doubt.
But against Seattle and their front, there are some elements at play that almost require balance. Particularly for the personnel the Patriots have, and particularly since it kept them in position to win the game… until Maye essentially deviated from the plan and got overly aggressive through the air in a turnover-packed fourth quarter.
Does the A.J. Brown injury have any effect on TreVeyon Henderson? Maybe some more two-back sets or TreVeyon split out? – @Stewurtz
Hard to say, Stewie. Maybe the way in which the A.J. Brown injury most impacts TreVeyon Henderson is that the Patriots will need to turn to someone for some explosive-play opportunities. And when Henderson gets back on the field — could be as soon as this week — he’s about as explosive a weapon as the Patriots have.
I do feel that, in some ways, the Patriots player who actually needs to step up the most in Brown’s absence is the team’s other running back: Rhamondre Stevenson.
Clearly, Stevenson won’t be playing the “X” receiver role any time soon. But if the Patriots want to lean more on their running game with their top pass-catcher out, then that could mean all kinds of work available to Stevenson.
Perhaps because of the way the season ended last year, it’s easy to forget that Stevenson might’ve been New England’s best offensive player in the last month of the regular season in 2025. And in terms of singular talents — players who can make yards on their own — Stevenson is one of its best. He didn’t have much room to run in Seattle, but he did average 3.4 yards after contact last week (18th among backs in Week 1), and he had three plays when he hit 15 mph or higher (tied for 11th). Those aren’t eye-popping numbers, but when you consider the competition, and you consider that he had a strong camp as both a runner and receiver, he could help buoy this offense in more ways than one with Brown out.
It seems like on “gotta have it” third-and-3 plays, DeMario Douglas doesn’t get open quickly in the slot, and I don’t see him on hot routes, either. Any chance Efton Chism III gets some looks there with A.J. Brown out? At least on third downs? – @Tmgrigori
I don’t see that just yet. Pop Douglas and Efton Chism would likely fill into the same slot-only role, and you’re only going to use one of those guys at a time. Unless the team is bailing on Douglas as their top option there — which I doubt since he was deemed the starter there at the start of camp and never relinquished that position — then Chism might have to wait for a more regular role.
What’s your take on the DaQuan Jones signing? – @SternZeb
Heavy-handed, violent, relentless. He’s a prototypical Mike Vrabel interior defensive lineman. (We’ve actually used Jones’ pre-draft scouting report and physical measurements as good comp for the types of defensive tackles the Patriots might be interested in on draft weekend in our “Best Fits” series.) His presence might delay the growth of second-year lineman Josh Farmer (nine snaps against the Seahawks) and third-year lineman Leonard Taylor III (seven snaps), though, by limiting their game-day workload.
The Patriots bring a veteran into their defensive tackle rotation. Mike Reiss weighs in on Zolak and Bertrand.
What’s a reasonable record for the season? – @AndresStein05
I know the A.J. Brown loss is a significant one. But I’m not going to deviate much from my preseason prediction of 10-7. I feel as though 9-8 is now certainly in play. Not having a true No. 1 is critical enough that it would be reasonable for anyone to drop their preseason prediction by at least a game. And if Brown isn’t close to the same player we saw through training camp when he returns, then perhaps that win-total prediction deserves to be shrunk by another game or two.
But for now, in my opinion, the Patriots should still be in the mix to be sniffing the postseason. That means a winning record, even without Brown for a month or more.
