It was a bit of an up-and-down rookie year for Patriots wide receiver Demario Douglas.

Douglas showed flashes of what he can be, but also seemed to be in Bill Belichick’s dog house at times throughout 2023. Now, with a clean slate and an entirely new feeling around 1 Patriots Place in Foxborough, Douglas is focused on improving and showing what he’s capable of with a bigger sample size.

“I feel like I can always improve in every aspect, but get the touchdown this year. Well, more than one,” he said with a smile when meeting with the media on Tuesday morning. “Touchdown(s) this year.”

Douglas was asked about some of the videos that have been floating around with guys working out together in the offseason, particularly the receivers. Having not had a real NFL offseason yet, any extra work is beneficial.

“That was good. You know, this is my first offseason. I always seen videos of other teammates that get together and work out. So, we finally did it. I got to do it and it was a good experience, a great experience. KB (Kendrick Bourne) was like ‘come work with us,’ and we’ve seen his growth from last year. It was like ‘yeah, let me come train with you,’ and it was good work.”

Douglas always feels like he’s one of the best players on the field, but after last year, he’s looking to play with a little more swagger this season, even after he was the most productive rookie receiver in team history.

“I feel like I always play with confidence. If I can’t play with confidence, I shouldn’t be out there,” he added. “It’s a blessing, but I still feel like I haven’t done anything, honestly.”

While there’s a lot of talk that the Patriots still don’t have a true No. 1 receiver, if guys like Douglas can take a leap forward, they may not need one truly defined top guy.