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New England Patriots: Reggie Wayne won’t help

By Kevin Parvizi

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With key veteran starters like Julian Edelman injured this preseason, the New England Patriots appear to be interested in bringing another veteran hand to the stable. Their interest has zeroed in on former arch-enemy Reggie Wayne, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported earlier today that Wayne took a trip to Foxboro last night and will take a physical with the Pats today. It’s a sign that the Patriots interest in Wayne could be significant, meaning that we have to seriously explore the possibility of the former Indianapolis Colts legend joining forces with Tom Brady.

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Wayne will undoubtedly have a bust in Canton and has four 100-reception seasons on his career resume, but he was a shell of his former self in his final season with the Colts. They had no choice but to release a slow veteran who looked done, particularly in comparison to exciting, young receivers like T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief.

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The Patriots have shown a willingness to sign older receivers in the past, such as “Molasses” Mike Jenkins and Austin Collie, so it looks like Wayne is the next guy on the list. Perhaps this workout is a sign of a lack of faith in Aaron Dobson and Josh Boyce, but it could stem from several things, including Bill Belichick’s possible admiration for Wayne as a player.

Whatever the case, if the Patriots sign the 36-year-old, I wouldn’t expect him to help the Super Bowl cause. Wayne didn’t seem to recover well from his season-ending injury in 2013, as he was one of the NFL’s worst receivers last season. This isn’t hyperbolic either, because his numbers in comparison to Andrew Luck‘s brilliance are just shockingly poor. Not only did he seem to lack explosion following his injury, but his hands were far worse than usual. That indicates possible bounce-back potential, but the word “potential” doesn’t really spring to mind often when discussing players above the age of 35.

Last season, as per Pro Football Focus, Wayne was responsible for a whopping nine dropped passes, meaning that he was exceedingly fortunate to be second on the Colts in targets with 116. Luck had a career-high 96.5 QB Rating in 2014, and yet he had a 67.2 rating when targeting the “Z” receiver. That number is so appalling that it put him at 83rd among 90 qualifiers in PFF’s WR Rating, and that was just one spot above Cleveland Browns “wide receiver” Travis Benjamin.

Sadly, the numbers only get worse. His 64/779/2 receiving line might look somewhat serviceable on paper, but his inefficiency as a receiver can be seen when looking at his other numbers. Despite averaging 12.2 yards per reception (lower than everyone on the team except for Hakeem Nicks, who was inexplicably poor last year), Wayne caught just 55.2% of everything thrown at him, which means that Luck was as likely to complete a pass to Nicks (55.1% catch rate) as he was to Wayne last season.

Considering the fact that Nicks is projected to miss out on a roster spot with the Tennessee Titans since both Justin Hunter and Dorial Green-Beckham are better, it’s hard to see how an older receiver who was only moderately more effective last season will help a Super Bowl contender with more established receiving opens.

Back in 2013, the Patriots sign a receiver named Lavelle Hawkins in the offseason, and even though he once caught 47 passes for the Titans (thus giving him more past production than the other WRs on the roster), the Pats cut him early in training camp, along with Donald Jones (who also had experience catching some passes for the Buffalo Bills).

They cut those two safer veteran options, because they wanted to give more training camp reps to their rookie trio of Kenbrell Thompkins, Dobson, and Boyce. Only Dobson and Boyce remain, but, as we saw in the first two preseason games, Chris Harper has been busy standing out and had five catches for 68 yards and a TD in yesterday’s game against the New Orleans Saints.

Dec 28, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) hands off the ball to running back Brandon Bolden (38) against the Buffalo Bills in the first quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Edelman, Brandon LaFell, Danny Amendola, and Brandon Gibson are all better veteran options than Reggie Wayne, and Gibson flashed some of his underrated 2012 form by dropping eight catches for 68 yards on nine targets as the possession-mover against the Saints defense.

I’m not opposed to the idea of the New England Patriots taking a one-year flier for the veteran minimum on Wayne, since there’s no risk there and some potential reward if he proves that his massive 2014 struggles were a fluke. The Patriots have injuries at wideout right now, and they can afford to bring in a proven body.

For those of you who vehemently disagree with me, the National Football Post’s David J. Chao has a gem of a tweet (by the way, I am not being sarcastic with my praise) that’s worth slowly gnawing on.

Bonus tweet:

I’m not willing to bet that Wayne will aid the Patriots if signed, but there’s hope that he can find his form once he regains health. Stranger things have happened to wide receivers in the NFL and there’s no risk in finding out if he can help, but this is just a depth flier; I doubt the Patriots would expect him to bring much to the table either, even if they are fond of him.

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