When the Patriots made a flurry of free agent signings in March one name that flew under the radar was wide receiver Kendrick Bourne. It’s understandable why he did; Matthew Judon was the top free agent available and names like Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith were more than enough to get Patriots fans excited. During New England’s six game winning streak, though, Bourne has been New England’s most dynamic offensive player.
Bourne does not rack up big target numbers, but when he touches the ball he can make an explosive play happen at any time. The first win of the Patriots current streak against the Jets saw Bourne throw a touchdown pass on the Patriots first possession and follow that up with four catches for 68 yards. Against the Browns, arguably New England’s best game of the season, Bourne had four catches for 98 yards and a touchdown plus three rushes for 43 yards. Mac Jones’ best throw of that game was a touchdown pass to Bourne.
After a 4/42 outing against the Falcons four days later, Bourne made the biggest play of the game against the Titans on Sunday with a 41-yard catch and run that broke the game open. He totaled five catches for 61 yards on the day and two touchdowns.
When asked about Bourne’s long touchdown catch and run, Bill Belichick noted the importance of those types of plays and how they can change games.
“KB has given us a lot of explosive plays through the course of the years. He made a great catch and run here today and I thought Jakobi [Meyers] made a really timely block on the sideline to kind of get KB down there and KB ran well on the sideline, didn’t go out of bounds, fought for the extra yards. Had a nice, stiff arm. Finished the run, so that was it. It was a great play by KB. He’s done that a few times. You know, those explosive plays are just such game-changers and obviously today we didn’t do a great job in the red area. We left a lot of points on the field but when you get a play like that where you can run it in last 40 yards and not have to – not have to run a dozen plays down in the red area makes it a lot easier. Love to see those plays happen. Obviously missed a couple opportunities there earlier in the game. But that was a great play.”, said Belichick.
During the Patriots rise to the top of the AFC, Bourne has made big plays at key moments. Even before the Patriots started winning, Bourne showed flashes of his game-changing abilities with a great touchdown catch against New Orleans and a 75-yard catch and run for a touchdown against Dallas.
Bourne turned 26 in August and he is going to continue to get better as he enters his prime. Make no mistake, this is not to say that Bourne is an elite, number one receiver. But he is a very good player who has the potential to be a great one and even if he does not fully reach that potential, his playmaking ability has helped the Patriots win games and will continue to do so.