The Patriots have acquired several receivers in-season over the years, and they’ve rarely worked out.
Kenny Britt did nothing in his short stint last year. Phillip Dorsett caught just 12 passes for 194 yards last year after being acquired five days before the season opener. Michael Floyd made one great block late in 2016, and otherwise was inactive for the postseason. Tim Wright, Keshawn Martin, and Austin Collie didn’t have much of an impact when they were brought in, either.
“It’s tough, I’m not going to lie,” Dorsett said Friday. “They throw a lot at you. You’re living in a hotel, you’re living out of your bag, you’re not accustomed to anything around you. You’ve got to be mentally prepared to be able to go through it. It’s a long process.”
Which makes Josh Gordon’s performance this season so noteworthy. In six games with the Patriots, he has 22 catches, 396 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Gordon’s 18-yard average leads the team, he has two 100-yard games, and he also owns the Patriots’ two longest pass plays this season, each 55 yards.
Most impressively, Gordon seems to have earned everyone’s trust rather quickly. In his last four games, the coaches have played Gordon in 245 of a possible 289 snaps (84.8 percent) as the clear No. 2 receiver next to Julian Edelman.
And Tom Brady is looking Gordon’s way. Over the last four games, Gordon’s 31 targets are second on the Patriots behind James White (37), and ahead of Edelman (24) and Chris Hogan (19). Brady has targeted Gordon nine times on third and fourth down already, and though they have only converted three of them, Brady feels good about the connection.
“That’s not an easy transition to come into, into that locker room, with that offense and the guys that have been established there, and come in and make an impact like he has,” said Titans coach Mike Vrabel, a former Patriot.
Some offenses are relatively easy to pick up midstream. The Patriots’ isn’t one of them. It requires receivers to read coverages before and during the snap, and to be thinking and seeing the same thing as Brady. A few receivers such as Brandon Lloyd and Brandon LaFell have fit in well right away, though they had an offseason program to work with Brady. Others, such as Joey Galloway and Chad Ochocino, were busts. Most, such as Martin or Wright, make a minimal impact.
But Gordon is working out as well as any first-time Patriot not named Randy Moss, and he’s doing it without the benefit of a training camp.
“I just think it’s so impressive, in my view, what he’s done in a short period of time and how he’s assumed this specific role in our offense,” Brady said recently. “That’s a very challenging thing to do. The receiver position in our offense takes years for most guys to understand and learn nuances and intricacies of not only our plays, but how to get open within the scheme, how to gain my trust. And he’s done it in such a short period of time.”
The Patriots point to a lot of hard work from Gordon and the coaches, especially receivers coach Chad O’Shea, who has worked closely with Gordon to help him learn the offense and adjust to the Patriots.
“I don’t think there’s any shortcut,” offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. “When you come in to a new place, kind of midstream, there’s no shortcuts to trying to learn the nuances and intricacies of somebody’s system. I think we just put our head down. He’s done a tremendous job of doing that. He tries to learn something new every day. Chad O’Shea deserves a tremendous amount of credit — he’s spent a lot of time with him. He’s done a tremendous job of getting him caught up as best we can.”
Of course, it also helps that Gordon is a physical specimen. Brady doesn’t have another 6-foot-4-inch, 225-pound target who can box out defenders and catch 50-50 balls. Gordon’s 22 catches with the Patriots generally fall under three categories: slant pass, deep sideline fade or back-shoulder throw, deep square-in. A majority of Gordon’s catches have come with defenders draped all over him.
“Size and height, weight, speed, I think there’s a mismatch,” Brady said. “For him to play the role that he’s played is a credit to him, what he’s been doing and what his routine here has been. I know he’s got a lot of great support and everyone wants to see him do as well as he possibly can.”
On fourth and 3 in Chicago in Week 7, Gordon came down with a jump ball over the cornerback. On a broken scramble play against the Colts in Week 5, Gordon went up over two defenders and caught a 34-yard touchdown pass. No one else on the Patriots can make those plays, other than Rob Gronkowski when he’s fully healthy.
“I let [Brady] know, ‘If you can get anywhere in the vicinity, I’m going to try to make a play on it and make a good effort to try to go and get it,’ ” Gordon said. “It’s great that he has a certain amount of trust in me to put it in my direction. And I just want to come down and make a play on it.”
Gordon hasn’t been as consistent catching the ball as the Patriots would like, as his 59.5 percent catch rate is the lowest on the team among wide receivers. But it’s right in line with the numbers produced by Brandin Cooks and Chris Hogan last year. In fact, 59.5 percent would be the highest catch rate of Gordon’s career. In 2013, when he was first-team All-Pro with 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns, Gordon only caught 54.7 percent of his targets.
And Gordon can be excused if he’s not totally on the same page with Brady yet. It’s not like he had an offseason or training camp to work with him.
“It’s been really impressive, honestly,” Dorsett said. “We’ve been doing everything we can to help him. He sits right next to me, he asks all the right questions and everything. Every chance I get I want to help him, because I know what it’s like to be in his position. He’s definitely doing a good job.”
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenVolin