Breaking down the Patriots passing offense (Stefon Diggs, Kyle Williams, DeMario Douglas, Hunter Henry)

The New England Patriots reloaded their offense this offseason heading into Drake Maye's sophomore season, signing Stefon Diggs to a three year, $63.5 million dollar contract, then using two Day 2 draft picks on offensive skill position players: running back TreyVeyon Henderson in the second round and wide receiver Kyle Williams in the third round.

With all the changes to this offense, how should fantasy football players expect Drake Maye to distribute the ball this season? Let's break it down.

Stefon Diggs, the de facto WR1

Given the contract that Stefon Diggs signed and the career he's built across multiple teams, it's no surprise that Stefon Diggs is expected to be the leading receiver on this team in 2025. Of course, that doesn't come without any risk: He's coming off a torn ACL that he suffered in October and is now entering his age 32 season. Even still, in a "down" year last year, Diggs averaged nearly 8 targets per game and over 15 PPR fantasy points per game last season with the Texans in the games he was fully healthy - and that was while operating as the #2 wide receiver behind Nico Collins.

I'm optimistic on Diggs' chance of returning draft day value, ranking him 9 spots ahead of his average ADP on the Draft Dominator tool.

The WR2 battle - DeMario Douglas or Kyle Williams?

DeMario Douglas has shown the ability to earn targets in this offense. Last year with Drake Maye, in games where he played a full compliment of snaps and Drake Maye averaged at least 23 pass attempts, Douglas averaged over six targets per game and over 11 PPR fantasy points per game. He's essentially been the reliable guy that helps moves the chains as an undersized slot receiver - but for us, that role is a high floor, low upside player.

Kyle Williams, interestingly enough, is himself an undersized slot receiver, putting these two potentially in direct competition with each other. Williams, however, has enough vertical speed in his game that gives him the possibility of being used in some different ways that we wouldn't expect to see DeMario Douglas used in.

I think the most likely scenario is that DeMario Douglas is taking more snaps at the beginning of the season as the "veteran" at the position, but Kyle Williams ends up out-snapping him as the year progresses.

I currently have both players slightly behind their average ADPs for the time being while this sorts itself out. And that's mainly because...

Hunter Henry will remain an important part of this offense

Hunter Henry had more targets, yards and touchdowns on a per-game basis last season than DeMario Douglas did, and I would expect that to remain the case for whomever ends up winning that WR2 battle.

Looking at the same statistical set from earlier, Hunter Henry averaged over seven targets per game and 11.3 PPR fantasy points per game. When healthy, he is a major part of the passing game plan for this team - and even with these additions, I believe that will remain the case.

I have Hunter Henry nearly ten spots ahead of ADP in my current rankings.

How much of the pass volume will TreyVeyon Henderson command?

Coming out of college, TreyVeyon Henderson was viewed as a future three-down back given his ability to handle large rushing workloads as well as catch passes out of the backfield. Rhamondre Stevenson isn't going anywhere, so it's likely that this backfield is a split backfield for this season, but I'd expect TreyVeyon to be the primary pass-catcher in the room. Given all of the receiving competition on this team, I don't expect TreyVeyon to have high target shares like some other backs could, but even getting to 12-14% would still add meaningful touches to his fantasy floor and ceiling - and would take away from other players listed above.

Full breakdowns of the Patriots passing offense - now available on the 2025 Draft Dominator tool!

The Patriots passing offense is likely to look quite a bit different this year than last year. On draft day, you need to have all the research you can at your fingertips to stay ahead of your competition.

My top 240 players - QBs, RBs, WRs and TEs - have all been ranked and tiered to help you dominate your drafts in the 2025 fantasy football season! Best of all, every single player has a full player preview tied to them, just like you've seen above - providing you with both the numbers and the analysis that contextualizes their ranking so you can be fully informed heading into your draft. In fact, what you just read comes from my research within the Draft Dominator. Hundreds of hours of research is now at your fingertips! 

Grab your copy of the 2025 Fantasy Football Draft Dominator today and dominate your season with a subscription to Basement Brewed Fantasy Football!