I think either Boutte or Pop would leave if they get decent compensation 4th round or higher.
We have Chism for next 4 years with ceiling just going to be on the up.
If williams start to show route running capabilities , most likely Boutte is out as he will be too expensive . But again depends on compensation. Considering we have no issues next year just roll with existing ones and draft or sign someone in 2027 . Most likely diggs might not be there in 2027 and if hollins is on last legs he might be able to do one last hurrah.
We need a tight end in next draft to develop with Henry. I wouldn't want us to waste an year of tight end rookie development by playing hooper .
2027 - Henry, diggs. Hollins, Boutte and pop all could potentially be gone . So we need to build some safety net in 2026.
Not sure why people think that Williams development would mean that BOUTTE would be gone. That makes ZERO sense, imho.
Boutte reminds me of David Givens. A dependable Chain mover. People forget that Boutte is just 23 years old. He's still developing.
Even if Boutte didn't develop more and Williams DID, having a top 3 that included Boutte and Williams would be similar (though with lesser talent) to what the Bucs have had with Evans/Godwin as their top 2. It's a scenario that the Pats fans haven't seen since Moss/Welker.
If Chism develops into a receiver similar to any of Welker / Amendola / Edelman , then that would give the Pats a top 3 that they've never had previously.
I agree that the Pats need a TE to bring along. People had hoped that Dippre would be that, but he's struggled. The Pats also need RB depth in the event that Gibson and Larison don't recover from their injuries.
Look at the Pats this year:
They have 4 receivers with more than 500 yards receiving. They have another receiver with over 400 yards receiving. I went back and looked to see how many times it happened since 2001 when the Dynasty started.
Times when the Pats had 4+ receivers over 400 yards.
2003, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015
, 2016, 2017
, 2018, 2021.
Times when they had 4+ receivers over 500 yards:
2010, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018
2016-2018 was the Pats historic run where they should have had 3 straight SBs if the league hadn't changed the rules for what was a CATCH literally just prior to the SB.
Boutte has improved as a receiver each year he's been in New England. That's despite having 3 different HCs and OCs. It would behoove the Pats to get him under an extension because he's an above average #2 WR and has the potential to be a very good to excellent #2 WR.