It didn’t take long, but the absence of Kayshon Boutte now looms large for the Patriots.

With AJ Brown going down in Seattle on Wednesday night, Mack Hollins was the guy who stepped up most against the Seahawks, but that won’t be the case all the time.

A collective effort will be needed if the offense is going to put up more than 10 points. It’ll be on Hollins, Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III to make sure things don’t go south in a hurry.

But, Williams in particular has been a topic of discussion throughout camp. Now, will he finally see a bigger role in Brown’s absence?

Mike Vrabel was asked that very question on Monday as prep for the Steelers began.

“Sure. I mean, we want to get Kyle involved,” he said. “I’ve tried to talk about that and… But yeah, I’m hopeful that Kyle can find a role for us and find a way to help us, using his speed and catch and run opportunities like we saw last year at times or some shot-type plays.

Vrabel was also asked about his message to Doubs following his rough night last week.

“He dropped a pass. You know what I mean? Guys, everybody drops a pass. Everybody misses a tackle. You talk to him the same way you always talk to him,” Vrabel said. “Figure out a way to make a play to help us win, and he did a lot of great things during camp, just like everybody did. And so, I know he’s excited to get back out there, get to work and to find a way to help us win.”

As far as Mack Hollins goes, while his performance in the latter stages of the Seattle game – particularly as a ‘go-to’ guy on crucial downs – was impressive, it’s just the expectation now for Vrabel and the rest of the staff.

“Well, Mack’s always taking advantage of his opportunities. I think that the quarterback knows he’s going to be in the right spot when he’s supposed to be there,” added Vrabel. “He’s a competitive player, plays on special teams for us. He’s just ready to go and ready to take advantage of the opportunities. And you kind of go in thinking, “Here’s the, the plan. I may play X amount of snaps.” Something happens, and then that all of a sudden gets changed.

“So, uh, Mack’s been through that a lot, and we’re comfortable being able to move him around as well in those multiple positions.”

Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Buffalo, Las Vegas, New York and Chicago.

Those are the next six games on New England’s schedule and most likely games this offense will need to produce without Brown.

As a group, the wide receivers now have a ton of pressure on them to not let things snowball just because the top guy went down.