Expectations are low for the 2024 New England Patriots, to put it gently. But DeMario Douglas is aiming high.
The second-year wide receiver led the Patriots in receiving yards as a rookie with 561 yards on 49 catches. And this year, he wants to double that output.
Douglas revealed to Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran that one of his goals this season is to reach 1,000 receiving yards, a feat that hasn't been achieved in New England since Julian Edelman in 2019.
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"(I want to) score touchdowns, I want to be a 1,000-yard receiver, and I want to make every play that comes my way," Douglas said on the latest episode of Curran's "Irrelevant Questions" series, as seen in the video player above. "Every ball that comes my way, I want that ball."
The Patriots have been woefully unproductive at wide receiver since Tom Brady's departure in March 2020. No Patriots pass-catcher has even reached 900 yards over the past four seasons, Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne are the only two to top 800.
If there's a receiver who can break that streak, however, it's Douglas.
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The 2023 sixth-round pick out of Liberty enters 2024 as the team's clear No. 1 wide receiver with Bourne sidelined until at least Week 5 with a knee injury. On a receiver depth chart that includes rookies Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker; recent free-agent pickups K.J. Osborn and Jalen Reagor; and unproven young wideouts Tyquan Thornton and Kayshon Boutte, Douglas should be the clear preferred target of Jacoby Brissett or Drake Maye this season.
And while Douglas isn't exactly a seasoned veteran, he gained confidence quickly as a rookie -- particularly in a Week 7 matchup with the Buffalo Bills in which he racked up 99 all-purpose yards on six touches while making his first official start.
"That first Bills game when I first got going, and everybody realized, 'Man, this guy can play,'" Douglas told Curran when asked about the moment he knew he belonged in the NFL.
"That first Bills game when that video came out, (Jabrill Peppers) was like 'Welcome home,' I felt like that was my 'Welcome home' game."
To hear more from Douglas on how he got the nickname "Pop," getting a shout-out from senator Marco Rubio in high school and more, check out "Irrelevant Questions" in the video player above or on YouTube.