There are many reasons to feel good and optimistic about the 2025 New England Patriots. Mike Vrabel gives the team an experienced head coach at the top, and he and the front office added tons of talent to the roster over the offseason.

The New England defense should be loaded after adding free agents like Milton Williams, Carlton Davis, and Harold Landry in free agency, while the offense got an injection of youth through the NFL Draft. Will Campbell should lock down Drake Maye's offensive line at left tackle, while running back TreVeyon Henderson will give the quarterback a dynamic threat out of the backfield.

But there remains a glaring question mark on the depth chart as the team continues OTA workouts in Foxboro, and it once again resides at the wide receiver position. The Patriots need to get something – anything – out of their receivers this season. Last year's collection was at the bottom of the NFL with just 3,343 receiving yards. Their 18 touchdowns were the second-fewest in the league.

What the Patriots really need is for a few of their current receivers to break out in 2025. Maye can't survive off feeding just tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper and relying on a steady crop of running backs. This year's collection of pass-catchers should be able to do something to make Maye's life easier in his second season as an NFL quarterback. But at the moment, we have no idea who is going to lead that group.

Patriots wide receivers

Here's a look at the 12 receivers currently on the roster and fighting for a role on the team:

Stefon Diggs
Demario Douglas
Kendrick Bourne
Mack Hollins
Kayshon Boutte
Ja'Lynn Polk
Javon Baker
John Jiles  
Kyle Williams (Rookie)
Efton Chism III (UDFA)
Jeremiah Webb (UDFA)  
Demeer Blankumsee (UDFA)

The Locks

The Patriots signed Diggs and Hollins in the offseason, so both are set to make the roster -- barring any extreme and unforeseen circumstances. Diggs is still working his way back from a torn ACL and it would be a huge benefit for the Patriots if someone else could jump in as Maye's top option while he recovers during the early part of the season. Hollins can do a bit of everything on the field, and he's an incredible motivator who pushes his teammates in the locker room.

Douglas had some rough moments last year, but he has the speed and play-making abilities to thrive in Josh McDaniels' offense. He'll have to become a better blocker under his new OC, but Douglas remains one of the team's best options in the passing game and will benefit from having guys like Diggs and Williams in the mix.

Williams, a third-round pick out of Washington State, figures to be a huge factor in the offense even as a rookie. He had 70 receptions for 1,198 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Cougars last year, and got a lot of run with Maye during 11-on-11s in last Tuesday's OTA when reporters were on hand. He could blossom into a big-play threat early in his NFL career.

That was how a lot of people felt about Polk last season, but he struggled mightily to catch on throughout his rookie campaign. Polk should be a lock given he was drafted in the second round just over a year ago, but he'll have to show something over the summer to really earn his spot.

After Polk, things get murky for the rest of the receiving corps. 

On the bubble

Boutte and Bourne should make the team, but could find themselves on the trade or cutting block if someone else really emerges from the pack. 

Boutte had the second-most yards among New England receivers last season with 589 off 43 catches, but that could make him a trade candidate near the end of camp. Bourne had just 28 catches in his 12 games last season as he returned from ACL surgery, and could also be a trade/cut candidate by summer's end. With a cap hit of $8 million over the next two seasons, Bourne could be on borrowed time in New England.

We've already touched on seven receivers, and that's without mentioning 2024 fourth-round pick Javon Baker or undrafted free-agent Efton Chism III. Baker was a massive disappointment on and off the field last season, and will be on a short leash in 2025.

Chism, meanwhile, will quickly become a favorite in New England – among both fans and McDaniels. He turned some heads during last week's OTA practice and while he doesn't have the blazing speed, he has the quickness and makeup to fit the Wes Welker/Danny Amendola mold in the Patriots offense.

Who will emerge as New England's No. 1 receiver? 

Will anyone? This is why wide receiver remains the biggest question mark on the roster.

Diggs has served as a No. 1 in the past, but he'll turn 32 in November and is coming off a major injury. It looks like his recovery is going well, but he likely won't be the same Stef Diggs who burned the Patriots all those years with Buffalo. And last season, he was much better as Houston's No. 2 option before he was hurt in October.

It would be huge if one of New England's younger receivers can emerge as a true No. 1 and grow alongside Maye, which would give the team an extremely cost-effective weapon at a position that usually demands some big bucks. Williams looks like the likeliest candidate to do so, and should spend a lot of his summer lining up outside and giving Maye an option downfield.

But it's dangerous to expect the world from a rookie (see: Polk, Ja'Lynn), so the Patriots are going to need their veteran pass-catchers to make an impact as Williams finds his way in the pros.

The Patriots will enter training camp with a loaded depth chart at receiver. But who emerges from that group -- and who separates themselves from the rest of the pack as a No. 1 -- will be one of the biggest storylines from Foxboro throughout the summer.