Most underrated players on the Buffalo Bills’ AFC East rivals

Underrated Buffalo Bills AFC East Rival No. 3: Kendrick Bourne, New England Patriots

This one was more difficult, as the New England Patriots have been a weird team to follow.

Last year, while their record was pretty good at 10-7, their play was just odd. It didn’t look like a Bill Belichick-ran NFL team.

That said, the biggest unsung hero of the Patriots was Kendrick Bourne.

The fact that he came into the team as a free agent and almost immediately became rookie quarterback Mac Jones’ favorite target, seemingly, is not an easy thing to do.

Kendrick Bourne 2021 stats

70 targets, 55 receptions; 800 yards; 5 TDs

The only receiver on the Patriots to have more yards than Bourne’s 800 was Jakobi Meyer, and he only eclipsed that amount by 66 yards.

So, for a free agent to step in the way Kendrick Bourne did deserves a lot more credit than what he received this season, which wasn’t much. To be fair, however, when a rookie quarterback is at the helm of an offense, most of the attention is on them.

With the Patriots having a lot of question marks around their offense this season, it’ll be important for Kendrick Bourne to repeat what he accomplished last year.

That is if they want to have another chance of playing the Bills in the playoffs again. Maybe it will yield a better result this year than last year.