Osborn’s situation in New England will be much different than in Minnesota.
K.J. Osborn has the potential to post career statistics in New England, which is both encouraging and troubling for Patriots fans.
The veteran wide receiver signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Patriots in March. He previously spent four seasons with the Vikings catching catches from quarterback Kirk Cousins, who departed Minnesota to play with the Atlanta Falcons this summer.
During an interview with former NBA great Shaquille O’Neal on The Big Podcast with Shaq, Cousins mentioned Osborn as a former teammate he hopes would have a successful season.
“Pretty much all of them, but K.J. Osborn is a receiver who was with us in Minnesota who was kind of in the shadow of Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, and I always felt like K.J. was better than the opportunities he got,” Cousins said of O’Neal.
“He went to free agency and went to New England, and I’d love to see him have a huge year in New England kind of with a bigger role than what he had in Minnesota to show what he could do.”
On the one hand, Cousins’ praise is encouraging. Osborn was a consistent No. 3 wideout for the Vikings, racking up 655 yards on 50 catches in 2021, 650 yards on 60 catches in 2022, and 540 yards on 48 catches in 2023. If Cousins believes Osborn is better than those figures, the 26-year-old wideout has the potential to have a significant impact in New England, even becoming the team’s top receiver. (DeMario Douglas led the Patriots in receiving yards last season, with 561.)
But therein lays the troubling aspect of Cousins’ remarks: the bar is pretty low at wideout in Foxboro. While Osborn was behind Jefferson and Thielen on Minnesota’s depth chart, the Patriots don’t have anyone nearly as talented, with second-year wideouts Kendrick Bourne (coming off a torn ACL), JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, and ex-Viking Jalen Reagor among the present options.
In other words, if K.J. Osborn has a legitimate shot at being your top receiver, you probably need better receivers.
The Patriots missed out on free-agent wideouts Calvin Ridley and Marquise Brown, but could still pursue a trade for an exceptional wideout like Tee Higgins or Brandon Aiyuk. Phil Perry’s “Prototypical Patriots” series highlights the abundance of outstanding receivers in the 2024 NFL Draft class, potentially worth a Day 1 or Day 2 choice for New England.
If the Patriots do not make any further substantial additions at the position, Osborn should have plenty of opportunities to shine as one of the few productive pass catchers in Foxboro.
GET MORE NEWS HERE
Leave a Reply