Patriots HOF WR Gushes About Difficulty Of A.J. Brown, Mack Hollins Sharing Field originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The New England Patriots wide receiving room quickly became one of the best in the NFL this offseason with the addition of A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs. But forgotten in all the luster of the two newest pieces is 32-year-old receiver Mack Hollins returning for year two in New England after the second-best season of his career. 

Hollins surpassed 500 yards last season for only the second time in his career. The receiver, who has been in the league since 2017, looked reborn in Foxboro.

At the time of his signing, Hollins was expected to be a fringe piece of Josh McDaniels' offense. The veteran soon became one of quarterback Drake Maye's trustiest options on third down, and was instrumental in the success of the Patriots' running game. 

He is once again returning to bring the grit to New England's pass game, and Patriots Hall of Famer Troy Brown thinks pairing him up with A.J. Brown will cause a whole bunch of problems for opposing defenses. 

"Put them on the field at the same time and 'is it run or is it pass?' Sometimes you get on a team, and they don't have those options, you see who's there, and you can say, 'They're throwing the ball on this play. This guy isn't blocking anyone.' Now with A.J. and Mack, run-action could be huge for them. And Josh (McDaniels) is one of the best at creating those run-action passes, so he should be able to create a lot of things with them," Brown said. 

ESPN's Mike Reiss, who conducted the interview with the three-time Super Bowl champion, said that Troy Brown was infatuated with the edge Hollins brings on the field.

"There were times in practice when Brown (6-1, 226) and Hollins (6-4, 221) would work together on the side, which is something that piqued Troy Brown's interest as it relates to coordinator Josh McDaniels' scheming," Reiss wrote. "He calls Hollins a 'lunch pail guy' who brings 'toughness, emotion and can make the big play when you need it.'"

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Patriots HOF Wide Receiver Shows Love To Forgotten Third-Rounder originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The New England Patriots have seven capable wide receivers to fill five, at most six, open roster slots. 

With the way the NFL is trending toward two tight end sets, teams are now carrying more tight ends than ever. The Los Angeles Rams had as many as five suit up in a game last year. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has been very open about wanting to be a heavier offense in 2026.

If an extra roster spot is given to the tight end room, it has to come from somewhere. 

I say that to say this: there will be a position battle this summer resulting in at least one of your favorite wide receivers being left off of the 53-man roster. 

It is quite possible that that one receiver could be 2025 third-round draft pick, Kyle Williams. As excited as many fans are about Williams, he only caught ten balls his rookie season. No player on New England's roster -- not even one tight end or running back -- had a lower reception rate when targeted. 

Patriots Hall of Fame receiver Troy Brown told ESPN's Mike Reiss that he is still holding out on Williams's traits.

"Speedster. He can run by anyone and in a thick room, that's a good asset to have. And he can track the ball down the field. He put that on film last year - 'when I'm in the game, you have to protect the deep part of the field,'" Brown said.

"But if he wants to be on the field more, he has to be able to run intermediate routes and create separation that way on a consistent basis."

Williams's spot on the final roster may come down to whether or not wide receiver Kayshon Boutte is traded. If he is moved, Williams should have no problem landing that fifth spot in the room with all he brings on special teams. If he is not, New England will have a tough decision to make. 

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Patriots Can Pay Both Drake Maye, Christian Gonzalez, But Do They Want To? originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The conversation surrounding the New England Patriots' offseason has (finally) shifted into discussions over the team's two biggest looming contracts. The Patriots are lucky enough to have two top-three players at their position playing on rookie contracts: Christian Gonzalez and Drake Maye.

Gonzalez is due for a massive raise any day now, as a member of the 2023 NFL Draft class. 

Maye still has a year before he will be given what could very well be a half-a-billion-dollar deal. 

The question looming in the back of all Patriots fans' minds is whether or not the team can succeed with these two massive contracts on the books. 

The answer is, in short, it will be no problem. The NFL cap is very navigable. Just look at the Kansas City Chiefs. They were able to win back-to-back Super Bowls while paying Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones. 

Phil Perry addressed the concern on NBC Boston's Thursday mailbag. 

"Teams like the Rams and the Eagles have figured out ways to have multiple players paid at or near the top of the market for years," Perry wrote.

However, Perry did offer a warning. The insider questioned the Patriots' willingness to subject such a large portion of their payroll to a small percentage of the roster.

"Before hiring Mike Vrabel, Robert Kraft explained that the Patriots are essentially a cash-to-cap operation. They try to keep their spending in line with the cap over a three-year period," Perry wrote. "Their spending has been sizable over the last two offseasons, and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf told Yahoo! recently that that approach probably isn't 'sustainable.'"

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