Jerod Mayo is taking over in New England, and it’s a fixer-upper. Certainly on the offensive side of the ball. The Patriots scored only 25 touchdowns last year, more than only the Jets and Panthers.

With the receiving stats in front of me, I notice that the Patriots were the only team that not only didn’t have a 1,000-yard receiver but also didn’t have a pair who reached that level. (Demario Douglas finished with 561 yards, while Kendrick Bourne closed at 406, for a combined total of 967 yards.)

Pretty lackluster. Since the league moved to eight divisions in 2002, this has happened only 33 times.

TEAMS WITHOUT A PAIR OF WR REACHING 1,000 YARDS
YearTmTm leaderReceivingNext bestReceiving
2002Ari.David Boston32-512-1Frank Sanders34-400-2
2003Det.Az-Zahir Hakim49-449-4Bill Schroeder36-397-2
2004Balt.Travis Taylor34-421-0Kevin Johnson35-373-1
2004Atl.Peerless Price45-575-3Dez White30-370-2
2006Atl.Roddy White30-506-0Michael Jenkins39-436-7
2007S.D.Vincent Jackson41-623-3Craig Davis20-188-1
2007Mia.Marty Booker50-556-1Ted Ginn34-420-2
2008Oak.Johnnie Lee Higgins22-366-4Chaz Schilens15-226-2
2008Sea.Bobby Engram47-489-0Deion Branch30-412-4
2009Cle.Mo. Massaquoi34-624-3Mike Furrey23-170-0
2009Oak.Louis Murphy34-521-4Chaz Schilens29-365-2
2009St.L.Donnie Avery47-589-5Danny Amendola43-326-1
2009K.C.Dwayne Bowe47-589-4Bobby Wade36-367-2
2009T.B.Antonio Bryant39-600-4Maurice Stovall24-366-1
2010Cle.Mo. Massaquoi36-483-2Chansi Stuckey40-346-0
2011Jac.Mike Thomas44-415-1Jason Hill25-367-3
2011St.L.Brandon Gibson36-431-1Danario Alexander26-431-2
2013NYJJeremy Kerley43-523-3Santonio Holmes23-456-1
2013St.L.Chris Givens34-569-0Tavon Austin40-418-4
2015Ten.Do. Green-Beckham32-549-4Harry Douglas36-411-2
2017Buff.Zay Jones27-316-2Jordan Matthews25-282-1
2017Cle.Ricardo Louis27-357-0Josh Gordon18-335-1
2017Chi.Kendall Wright59-614-1Josh Bellamy24-376-1
2018Was.Josh Doctson44-532-2Jamison Crowder29-388-2
2018S.F.Kendrick Bourne42-487-4Dante Pettis27-467-5
2019Phil.Alshon Jeffery43-490-4Nelson Agholor39-363-3
2019Balt.Marquise Brown46-584-7Willie Snead31-339-5
2020Phil.Travis Fulgham38-539-4Greg Ward53-419-6
2021NYGKenny Golladay37-521-0Kadarius Toney39-420-0
2022Chi.Darnell Mooney40-493-2Equ. St. Brown21-323-1
2022Balt.Demarcus Robinson48-458-2Devin Duvernay37-407-3
2022Ten.Robert Woods53-527-2Treylon Burks33-444-1
2023N.E.Demario Douglas49-561-0Kendrick Bourne37-406-4

Of course, in our fantasy drafts this summer, we’re not picking what the players did last year. We’re getting what they’ll do in 2024. And with that in mind, it makes sense to also look at those struggling offenses did in their next seasons.

Below see the most productive wide receivers from each of those teams that didn’t have a pair of wide receivers reach 1,000 yards. Exactly half of those 32 teams had a wide receiver who finished with top-30 numbers (using PPR scoring). That certainly reaches the level of fantasy relevance.

Eight of the 32 teams (a quarter, if my math is correct) had a top-20 receiver. And only nine of the teams didn’t have a wide receiver ranking in the top 40.

It’s early in the process, of course. Who’s quarterbacking, and what kind of offense are they running? And the Patriots will be adding a notable receiver or two in the offense. But I would guess that some New England wide receiver will be in my top 40 at the position in July.

They’ve got Demario Douglas (pictured) coming back, and he had a credible rookie season. There was a point in the middle of the season where he caught 5-6 passes four games in a row.

—Ian Allan