New England Patriots DVOA, Stats, & NFL Rankings

New England Patriots tight end Austin Hooper caught two passes for 13 yards and a touchdown during Sunday's Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Hooper's touchdown came on fourth down as quarterback Jacoby Brissett sold the hand-off and found his tight end wide open near the goal line. Although he's the Patriots' No. 2 tight end behind Hunter Henry, Hooper has still put together a solid start to the season, catching six passes for 68 yards and the score. He'll continue to make an impact on offense but can be avoided in most fantasy leagues given the Patriots' subpar offense and his role behind Henry.

New England Patriots wide receiver Demario Douglas caught all three of his targets for 13 yards during Sunday's Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Douglas had caught seven passes for 79 yards back in Week 4, so there was optimism that he might be able to build on that effort this week against the Niners. Instead, his target total declined and he delivered an underwhelming fantasy performance. Unfortunately, the Patriots don't have enough passing and scoring opportunities to make Douglas a reliable fantasy option. Jacoby Brissett is averaging just 15.1 completions and 0.5 passing touchdowns per game, so when you divide those numbers over a large group of capable wide receivers and tight ends, you're left with a bunch of depth players who lack much fantasy value, outside of an occasional breakout game. That's the case with Douglas, who has either gone under 4.5 fantasy points or over 14.5 fantasy points in all four of his games this season. He's too dependent on volume in an offense that can't consistently support a player like that. Douglas ranks as a fantasy WR5 going forward.

New England Patriots wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk converted seven targets into three catches for 30 yards during Sunday's Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Polk had not commanded more than three targets in a single game through the first three weeks of the season, but that evidently changed this week as Polk led the Patriots with seven passes thrown his way. Despite the increased volume, Polk still didn't deliver a very appealing fantasy performance due to his lower catch and yardage totals. On a promising note, he made an impressive grab in heavy coverage along the sideline. It was ruled incomplete, but only because Polk just barely missed getting both feet in bounds. The play should give fantasy managers optimism that Polk can make flashy catches against starting cornerbacks in the NFL. The rookie isn't a reliable option for Week 5 against the Miami Dolphins, but his long-term value continues to grow as he makes an impression early in his Patriots career.

New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 43 yards on 13 carries during Sunday's Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He also converted five targets into four catches for 19 yards through the air. On a more negative note, Stevenson did lose a fumble in the effort. He has now fumbled in all four games this season and has lost a fumble in each of the last two contests. Evidently, the running back's productivity and versatility on offense have been somewhat canceled out by his ball security issues. At the same time, fellow running back Antonio Gibson has tallied 219 scrimmage yards over the last three games, showing a combination of burst and ball security that we simply haven't seen from Stevenson in the last couple of weeks. Stevenson should still be the Patriots' No. 1 running back against the Miami Dolphins in Week 5, but the gap between the two of them is likely shrinking as Gibson makes a case for more snaps and touches.

New England Patriots running back Antonio Gibson rushed six times for 12 yards on the ground during Sunday's Week 4 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He left much more of an impact in the receiving game, hauling in three of four targets for an additional 67 yards through the air. He finished as the Patriots' receiving yards leader. Gibson now has 219 scrimmage yards over the last three weeks, but he's still searching for his first touchdown as a member of the Patriots. Nevertheless, he has demonstrated a tendency for breaking off big plays within a Patriots offense desperately searching for a spark after a 1-3 start. Gibson is still operating as the Patriots' No. 2 running back behind Rhamondre Stevenson, but given that Stevenson has lost two fumbles in the last two games and Gibson has impressed lately, the latter could be in line to earn more snaps going forward. He'll rank as a low-end RB3 heading into Week 5 against a suspect Miami Dolphins squad.