DeMario Douglas

Started as a rookie target hog — then watched Diggs walk in and take half his volume.

Douglas opened his career with two 17–18% target-share seasons — a near-WR1 workload on a target-poor offense. Then Stefon Diggs (102 targets) and Hunter Henry (87) arrived and his share collapsed to 9.8%. Volume halved, but his yards-per-catch actually *jumped* (9.4 → 14.4).

Why it matters. Douglas was the Patriots' de-facto slot WR1 in his first two seasons, soaking 17-18% of the team's targets despite being a Round-6 pick. The collapse to 9.8% in 2025 isn't injury or scheme change — it's roster turnover: Stefon Diggs (102 targets) and Hunter Henry (87) absorbed the volume Drake Maye now distributes.

A pure slot/short-area target: 82% of his career targets are short, with a 3.4 aDOT on those throws.

183 of his 224 charted targets are short routes — a hilariously slot-specific profile. His average depth of target was 3.4 air yards on short throws; the league's typical slot WR runs closer to 5–6 aDOT.

This is screens, slants, drags, and check-downs. The fact that he still posts a 76% catch rate on those routes is what made him the Patriots' chain-mover in the Mac Jones / Maye-rookie years.

Why it matters. An 82% short-route share with a 3.4 aDOT on those targets makes Douglas one of the most schemed-shallow WRs in the NFL — closer to a slot-RB usage pattern than a true WR2. The 26.4 air-yards average on his deep targets means New England isn't hiding him from vertical concepts entirely, but the rate is so low (41/224, 18%) that he's effectively a possession-only piece.

3rd-lowest aDOT (6.1) among all WRs with 80+ targets in 2024 — only Wan'Dale and Shakir lined up shallower.

Out of every WR who saw 80+ targets in 2024, Douglas had the 3rd-lowest average depth of target at 6.1 air yards — trailing only Wan'Dale Robinson and Khalil Shakir. The list around him is a who's-who of designed-touch slot/jet-sweep players (Deebo, McCloud, Downs). On short throws only his aDOT drops to 3.4 — essentially behind-the-line work.

Why it matters. Among the 60-odd WRs who saw 80+ targets in 2024, Douglas's 6.1 aDOT is the third-lowest, sitting alongside specialist slot players (Wan'Dale, Shakir) and gadget pieces (McCloud). Crucially, his peer group at that aDOT is players with explicit jet/screen design — confirming Douglas wasn't asked to stretch the field even in a year when he led NE's WR room in targets.

Career night before the breakout: 100 yards and a TD on 4 catches vs Atlanta.

His first career 100-yard game came in Week 9 of his third season — 4 catches, 100 yards, 1 TD against Atlanta. That's a 25.0 yards-per-catch night for a player who averages 11.2 for his career. Despite the reduced role in 2025, he's still capable of the splash game.

Why it matters. It took until his third season for Douglas to break 100 receiving yards in a game — a useful reminder that low-aDOT receivers need extreme YAC luck or volume to crack the milestone. The 25.0 YPC he posted vs Atlanta (4 catches on 6 targets) is more than double his career average and tells you the game came from chunk plays, not target volume.

Top-10 in career receiving yards among the 2023 WR class — but with the *worst* TD rate of any 150-target rookie-class peer.

Douglas is 10th in his draft class in career receiving yards — ahead of every other Day-3 pick. But his 6 career TDs on 212 targets (2.8%) is the lowest TD rate of any 2023-class WR with 150+ targets — well below Nacua (4.4%), Downs (3.8%), and Flowers (4.1%). The role profile explains it: he runs the routes that move chains, not the ones that score points.

Why it matters. Douglas as a 6th-round pick outproducing every other Day-3 WR in his class is the kind of low-cost surplus value that earns extensions — except the 2.8% TD rate strips most of the fantasy and real-football upside. For comparison, Jordan Addison's 7.7% TD rate on a near-identical 286 targets means almost three times the scoring on the same volume.