DeMario Douglas Week 1 Outlook - Patriots at Bengals

By Derek Brown (FantasyPros), Wed, Sep 4th 2024, 8:38pm EDT

Douglas is the only Patriots' wide receiver I feel good about possibly plugging into a lineup in Week 1. We still don't know the rotation of the receivers on the outside, but Douglas should have no concerns as the team's starting slot. Last year, in the eight games Douglas played at least 50% of the snaps, he commanded a team-leading 20.8% target share and 24.4% first read share. He was a WR3 or better in weekly fantasy scoring in five of those eight games. Last year Cincy had the sixth-highest single-high rate (59.8%). In that eight-game sample, against single-high, Douglas managed a 22.5% target share with 1.98 YPRR and a 23.2% first-read share. Encouraging numbers, no doubt. The good vibes continue when we look at the matchup for Douglas. Last year, the Bengals gave up the third-highest receiving touchdowns and the fifth-highest PPR points per target to slot receivers. Douglas will run about 67% of his routes against Mike Hilton (72.7% catch rate and 78.5 passer rating).