Dorsett numbers came when he was supposed to be the top receiver.
Dorsett was "supposed to be the
top receiver" according to whom? And, for that matter, wtf defines "the top receiver"? Furthermore, why is it necessary to impose an artificial hierarchy on any of this, since it doesn't actually reflect what happens in real life?
During the first three games - pre-Gordon and pre-Edelman - Dorsett was actually used mostly on Dola/Edelman type routes (and did well), while Hogan and Gronk were used primarily in deeper target areas. That was a significant departure from the way the Pats had used Dorsett in 2017 (in a different "target mix").
Currently, the target mix appears to be Gronk, Hogan and Gordon sharing the various intermediate to deeper routes (mostly), with Edelman and White sharing the intermediate to short target areas (mostly). Dorsett hasn't been used the past three games NOT because he's "bad", but because (1) he's a bit redundant at this point, and (2) McD and Brady are still trying to get Gordon fully-integrated.
The evolution/development of the Pats 2018 offense got a late start (4 games late) due to a variety of reasons that included Edelman's suspension and various injuries, especially to RBs. As Brady himself said this week, "The offense is still in its infancy." Scary thought for opposing DCs. But what it means for us fans is that we haven't seen the final product yet, and that we may not see it until after the week-10 BYE.
Whatever it ends up being, I'd say the odds are good that it will include more Dorsett than we've seen over the past three games. In what role remains TBD.
