DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte deliver career performances with Drake Maye at quarterback

The two young wide receivers had the most productive days of their careers against the Texans.

DeMario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte both entered the NFL on April 29, 2023. Exactly 534 days later, during the New England Patriots’ loss to the Houston Texans, the two former sixth-round draft picks both scored their first career touchdowns.

Boutte was the first among them to find the end zone on Sunday.

With only 16 seconds on the clock in the second quarter of what was then a 14-0 deficit for his team, he was able to get a step on Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. on a deep pattern down the right sideline. First-time starting quarterback Drake Maye hit the receiver in stride for a 40-yard touchdown.

“Defenses start sitting on routes when we aren’t throwing it deep,” Boutte explained after the game. “I went to Coach and I was like, ‘We need to take a shot, I want the ball.’ That was the opportunity, and it presented itself. Drake threw a great ball. Great pass from him.”

“We’ve got to give gas, give him a chance,” said Maye. “That was kind of my thought process; give him a chance. I thought the Texans were kind of squatting us a little bit. They came out and challenged us and played in man, so I tried to let one ride and give Boutte a chance. He made a nice play, and it was pretty cool. Both of our first touchdowns, so pretty cool moment.”

The 187th overall selection in last year’s draft, Boutte had a quiet rookie season. Appearing in five games, the LSU product caught just two passes for 19 total yards.

His sophomore campaign did not appear to start any better, and he spent the first two weeks of the season on the sidelines without seeing any action. From Week 3 on, however, his playing time started to increase — culminating in a career performance versus Houston: serving as New England’s No. 1 wide receiver in terms of playing time, he was on the field for 55 of 66 offensive snaps and caught three passes for 59 yards and his touchdown.

DeMario Douglas, who was selected 23 spots later in the 2023 draft, also had the most productive game of his career on Sunday.

Playing 41 snaps in a more specialized role compared to Boutte, Douglas caught six passes for a career-best 92 yards. He also was on the receiving end of a 35-yard touchdown pass from Maye in the fourth quarter for his own end zone debut.

“The other day I was saying that I was going to get my first touchdown catch. It was spoken into existence and manifested it,” Douglas told reporters in the locker room after the game. “I read the defense and saw man. I caught the ball and went, ‘Don’t fall this time, don’t fall this time,’ and got into the end zone.”

As opposed to Boutte, Douglas quickly burst onto the scene as a rookie. One of the few positives in what was a tough season for the Patriots offense, he led the team with 561 receiving yards on 49 catches.

Despite also missing three games due to a pair of separate concussions, the arrow was pointing up for the former Liberty wideout. He continued trending in the right direction this summer, despite a finger injury limiting him early in training camp. When he was fully healthy, though, he was nearly uncoverable in practice.

That success did not immediately translate to the regular season. Douglas caught just two passes in his first two games in new coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s offense.

The team went on to make a concerted effort to increase his involvement, and between Week 3 and Week 5 he hauled in 16 passes and gained 141 yards through the air. And even though the Patriots switched quarterbacks from veteran Jacoby Brissett to the rookie Drake Maye ahead of the Texans game, his target share remained high.

“We have a young offense, and we are making progress,” said Douglas. “Our first game together as a young offense and I felt like we should be moving forward after this game.”

The Patriots eventually ended up losing their game against Houston with a final score of 41-21; Maye turned the ball over three times and the unit was hit or miss the entire afternoon. Still, with the trifecta of Maye, Douglas and Boutte leading the way the signs of a functional passing offense were there for the first time all season.

“I felt like in this group we can push the ball down the field and make plays in the passing game,” the first-round quarterback said. “We’ve just got to keep repping it and see what you like and I’ve got to make the throws. That’s the bottom line.”