New England Patriots rookie wide receiver Demario ‘Pop’ Douglas is having a productive rookie season.
The sixth-round draft pick currently has 47 catches for 548 yards this season. His 47 receptions are the most ever for a rookie wideout in the Bill Belichick era.
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Douglas has found immediate success in the NFL when considering his preparation, which includes learning from some of the best wide receivers in Patriots’ history.
Julian Edelman, Troy Brown and Deion Branch are some of the most productive receivers in the history of the franchise. Edelman recorded 6,822 receiving yards in his Patriots career. Brown tallied 6,366 yards for New England, while Branch tallied 4,297 yards in seven seasons with the Patriots.
Douglas does not have those numbers yet, but he is working to emulate those three in particular. He watches their film, as well as the tendencies.
“Yeah, for sure,” Douglas said, via NESN’s Zack Cox. “It’ll be in the little clips. I’ll see Edelman, Troy, Deion. Some of the GOATs that have been through here. Watching them, it helped me with my game, also. …How they run their routes. How they became successful. The little things that they do, how they come off the ball, stuff like that.”
Douglas is well on his way to having an impressive first season with New England. The organization has struggled drafting wide receivers as of late. However, it appears that Douglas may be an outlier to that trend in the best way possible.
