Patriots Receiver Listed Among NFL’s Best In Surprising Advanced Metric

The New England Patriots have a lot of great players on their roster. Yes, some players struggled in the passing game and it showed. Kendrick Bourne is not one of those guys. The Patriots receiver was listed among the best players in an advanced metric.

Catch rate over expected (CROE) is an advanced football metric measuring the difficulty of a completion with the help of several factors. Experts rely on separation from nearest defender, depth of potential target, speed, area of field, and much more. This metric shows the efficacy of players when it comes to catching balls when they aren’t supposed to catch.

Patriots receiver shows great results in the metric

Nick Shook from NFL.com reported that only three players showed better CROE numbers than Bourne this past season.

According to the metric, Bourne had 78.6% of the passes he received. Believe it or not, his expected rate was 69.9%. Seattle’s Tyler Lockett (+9.2%), Jacksonville’s Christian Kirk (+9.4%), and Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins (+9.8%) had better numbers than the Patriots receiver.

Head coach Bill Belichick selected Bourne for a reason. He turned out to be an incredible playmaker and added nice dominance to the offense this past season. In 2021, Bourne had 925 total yards and hit five touchdowns. Stats show that he led the team with 19.5% explosive play rate in his first season as a Patriots player.

Bourne is entering his second year with the Patriots. His great numbers will definitely increase his role. The talented player will see more opportunities this time. His great performance will keep him busy throughout the entire season.

The Patriots need someone like Bourne. He can make an impact. The 2022 roster will look a lot different and Bourne will have to work with a group of new players. New England selected some interesting guys in the draft and Belichick traded for DeVante Perkins.

Will Bourne deliver a similar performance in 2022? Will he do his best to lead his Patriots to a win? NFL analysts made great predictions about Bourne’s game in the upcoming season.