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FOXBORO, Mass. — On the most important drive of the New England Patriots’ Week 1 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, quarterback Mac Jones stood in the shotgun. In the slot to his right wasn’t JuJu Smith-Schuster, the pricey free agent Bill Belichick had lured to New England with $16 million guaranteed. No, Smith-Schuster stood on the sideline. The Patriots coaches chose instead to play Demario Douglas, the dynamic rookie who has arguably been the team’s most improved player since the spring.
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In a sign of just how high the Patriots are on the 22-year-old out of Liberty, they trusted him when the game was on the line, the culmination of a productive NFL debut. Douglas finished with four receptions for 40 receiving yards, second-most on the team among receivers, and was the only receiver to catch a pass of 20-plus yards.
As the Patriots prep now for Sunday night’s tilt against the Miami Dolphins, Douglas could be in line for even more, one of the few bright spots in the team’s receiver room a week into the season. Veteran DeVante Parker missed the Eagles game due to a knee injury, Smith-Schuster was benched on the final drive and fellow rookie Kayshon Boutte didn’t catch any of his four targets.
But Douglas, along with veteran Kendrick Bourne, had some moments that provided reasons for optimism at wide receiver for the Patriots. If Douglas can continue to progress, he could be a valuable part of the offense this season — and perhaps the next in a long line of successful slot receivers for this franchise.
For now, he’s just enjoying the ride. It’s already been a long journey to this point.
Mac to Demario‼️@popshotta3 | @MacJones_10
📺: #PHIvsNE on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/VjGQESkpZB
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 10, 2023
Maurice Harris didn’t know much about Douglas when he was hired by Liberty to coach wide receivers and run the team’s offense in 2019. During the first week of practice, the players all had to do height and weight measurements.
Harris was floored when he saw Douglas’ numbers. He weighed 149 pounds. Douglas wanted to play as a freshman, but there were concerns over whether it was even safe to play someone that size against 300-pound players four years older than him.
But Douglas wasn’t afraid. The lightning-quick receiver put together a strict plan with coaches to gain weight without losing his speed. Harris had seen players around Douglas’ size before. “But not one that made the gains that Demario did weight-wise while keeping all of his speed and quickness,” Harris said.
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By the end of Douglas’ freshman season, coaches were drawing up plays specifically with him in mind.
It helped that Douglas was obsessed with football.
“One thing that stood out when he got on campus was that he was a football junkie,” Harris said. “Just talking with his roommates, they always said he was watching other offenses and other receivers on YouTube. He wasn’t a big TV guy, he was just a football junkie. He would always be very attentive in meetings, asking good questions.”
Douglas played for two years at Liberty with quarterback Malik Willis, the third-round pick of the Tennessee Titans in 2022. Together, they organized seven-on-seven drills every Saturday in the summer for the team to get extra reps.
“Demario, you weren’t going to outwork him,” Harris said. “That just became the culture of that time. In the summertime, you knew you were going to get work on Saturdays.”
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By Douglas’ senior year, he had established himself as the best receiver on the team. He had 79 catches that season; no one else had more than 25. That meant opposing defenses knew who was going to get the ball — and who they needed to slow down.
Still, NFL scouts had their concerns, even after Douglas’ big season. He’s 5-foot-8, still just 180 pounds, even after putting on weight. Players like that come with durability questions.
That’s part of why Douglas fell to the sixth round. But the Patriots have had lots of success over the last two decades with shifty, undersized slot receivers. So after spending time with Douglas at the Shrine Bowl, Belichick selected Douglas with the 210th pick.
“I was excited because of that,” Harris said of Douglas going to New England. “Over the years, seeing what they’ve done with guys like him, smaller guys who can create space and make people miss, that made me excited about him landing in that system.”
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Quickly, Douglas made an impression. By the second week of training camp, he was already working with the starting offense. By the first preseason game, the Patriots were so confident that Douglas was going to be a contributor that they held him out.
That showed in the season opener against the Eagles. Douglas played 33 snaps, the third-most among wide receivers.
The Patriots coaching staff wasn’t ready to let Douglas celebrate his debut, though. They quickly made clear the routes he struggled on, including one where wide receivers coach Ross Douglas said he drifted at the top of the route.
“Always room for improvement,” the coach said. “He looked like a rookie playing his first NFL game. But with reps and through experience and getting his feet wet a little bit, he’ll be better moving forward.”
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(Photo: Winslow Townson / Associated Press)
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