Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte has 23 catches on 30 targets for 431 yards and five touchdowns this season.
Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte has 23 catches on 30 targets for 431 yards and five touchdowns this season.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
FOXBOROUGH — Don’t tell Stefon Diggs that Kayshon Boutte’s season has been a surprise.
Diggs, who has clearly developed a level of affection for the third-year receiver since the two became teammates this past offseason, said he hasn’t been shocked by Boutte’s strong showing through the first eight games.
“It’s more of a surprise to y’all, but I’m just happy that he’s having success,” Diggs said of Boutte, who has 23 catches on 30 targets for 431 yards and five touchdowns. “He shows up every day ready to work, putting that time in. [I’m not] surprised. I expect success from Kayshon.”
Boutte’s numbers have provided a boost for New England’s passing game on multiple levels, but his real impact has been as a deep threat. Boutte’s 18.7 yards per reception rank second in the NFL among players with at least 30 targets. Alec Pierce of the Colts is No. 1 at 21.4 yards per reception.
“Like I tell people, the deep ball isn’t always about speed,” Boutte said. “A lot of guys think just because you run a 4.3, 4.2, you can always take the top off [the defense]. I really don’t think that’s part of the game, because technique beats speed, honestly, if you ask me.
“I think it’s just knowing how to run routes and a good understanding of how to get open. I think I do a tremendous job of that, because I’m not the fastest, but I always find a way to get past.”
According to quarterback Drake Maye, their deep-ball chemistry is born out of a simple philosophy.
“I think you keep throwing to a guy and he keeps making plays,” Maye shrugged. “It’s as simple as that. It’s not really any more difficult than that.
“You just remember things of throwing deep throws, seeing him come up on the right side of it, and it just makes you want to keep going back to it. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Boutte’s breakout has been a couple of years coming. As a rookie in 2023, he was used sparingly, finishing with two catches for 19 yards in five games. He started to emerge last season, with 43 catches on 68 targets for 589 yards and three touchdowns.
This year has seen the 5-foot-11-inch, 197-pounder become a vital part of the passing game, slotting in as a No. 2 receiver behind Diggs and starting quickly enough to suggest he’s on pace for career bests in catches, yards, and touchdowns.
There are several reasons for Boutte’s success, according to offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
“No. 1, he runs hard on every play,” McDaniels said. “And I think when you watch a guy in practice run like that, and then accelerate down the field, his long speed has shown up over and over since the spring, just the ability to eventually get past the defense, or to at least get even with them, and have an opportunity to make a play down the field.”
McDaniels also notes Boutte’s strength, which has come in handy on contested catches, as well as his ability to track the ball. In addition, there’s Boutte’s patience. On a mic’d up segment for NFL Films during the win over the Browns, McDaniels can be heard praising Boutte’s selflessness.
“I know these guys all do their job and every skill player wants to have the ball as much as they can to help the team, first of all, and then certainly produce themselves. And they should want that,” McDaniels said. “But he’s had a great attitude, doing everything that we’re asking him to do.”
Boutte is happy about what’s been accomplished, but his focus remains on making week-to-week gains as part of a team that’s in first place in the AFC East.
“It’s been great,” Boutte said. “Four-and-13 the past two years … we’re in Week 8, going into Week 9. We’re 6-2, a two-seed. Try not to get too high or too low. Just take it week by week. We’ve got a good opponent this week. That’s our focus right now.”
Christopher Price can be reached at christopher.price@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at christopherprice.bsky.social.