The New England Patriots went looking for speed this offseason, and they may have found a way to make the whole offense harder to handle because of it.
AJ Brown and Romeo Doubs are the new pieces in the mix, arriving from the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, respectively. Both are expected to play major roles for New England, but Brown’s arrival carries the most attention after a 2025 stretch that qualified as a down year by his standards. Even with numbers that sank to career-lows, he still posted his fourth straight 1,000-yard receiving season.
That passing-game boost is where ESPN’s Mina Kimes sees the ripple effect. With Brown and Doubs giving Drake Maye reliable targets, she believes the Patriots’ run game should benefit too, simply because defenses won’t be able to crowd everything else.
“The revamping of the wide receiver group, not just Brown, the addition of Romeo Doubs, which I think is one of the most slept-on additions to any team, is not only going to keep this passing attack operating at a high level like it did last year, it's going to open up opportunities on the ground,” said Kimes.
Her bigger point was that New England’s offense last season was productive but lopsided. The Patriots threw the ball well, but their running game lagged behind, and that imbalance showed up when the games mattered most.
“As good as the Patriots offense was last season, they were not balanced. Very good throwing the ball, below average when running. I think that really hurt them in the postseason.”
The numbers back up that split. New England averaged 128.9 rushing yards last season, which ranked sixth in the NFL, but that dipped to 117.8 rushing yards in the playoffs. The Patriots then succumbed to the coverage of the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
Kimes thinks the new receiver setup could force a different look from opposing defenses and create more room for the backs.
“I think it’s gonna open up opportunities on the ground.”@minakimes on what A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs will bring to the Patriots' offense 🏈 pic.twitter.com/rBeyUXwUbH
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) August 4, 2026
“Now they've got AJ Brown and Doubs on the field, you're gonna see a lot more split safety coverage, so I think there's gonna be opportunities on the ground for those (running) backs,” stressed Kimes.
New England opens its preseason schedule against the Indianapolis Colts on August 13.
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