Kendrick Bourne is a 6-1, 203-lb wide receiver for the New England Patriots. He played collegiate football at Eastern Washington. Alongside Cooper Kupp, they became the top receiving combination in FCS history. He broke out in 2014 as a 19 year old receiver when he caught 52 receptions for 814 yards and 10 touchdowns. He concluded his collegiate career with back-to-back season with 70+ receptions and over 1000 yards receiving.
At the NFL Combine, Kendrick Bourne ran a 4.68 (10th-percentile) 40-Yard Dash. The slow time along with playing football at the FCS level caused Bourne to fall out of the draft completely in 2017. Bourne signed with the San Francisco 49ers where he made the team as the fifth wide receiver on the depth chart. Bourne would debut in Week 1, but would follow it up with five consecutive games as a healthy scratch.
Bourne would not start any of the ten games he played his rookie season, but put up a respectable 16-257-0 stat line, including 8 (No. 52) Red Zone Targets. Kyle Shanahan and the coaching staff praised his improvement through his rookie season.
In Bourne’s second season in 2018 he played in all 16 games, including starting 8 games (a career-best in a season to this day). Bourne would catch 42 passes for 487 yards and four touchdowns. Bourne’s role expanded, but he kept his red zone role. His 12 Red Zone Targets were the 32nd-most among WRs and he caught nine of the targets.
In 2019 and 2020, the 49ers invested heavy draft capital in their wide receiver room. Deebo Samuel was drafted in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Alongside George Kittle, Samuel and Kittle combined for 188 targets on a team averaging 32.1 (No. 29) Team Pass Plays Per Game. This resulted in a decline in Bourne’s role on the team, specifically in the red zone. Bourne would finish 2019 with 30 receptions for 358 yards and five touchdowns.
The 49ers drafted Brandon Aiyuk in the first round. Now behind Aiyuk, Samuel, and Kittle, Bourne’s best days appeared to be behind him. However, Kittle and Samuel both missed half of the season and Aiyuk missed four games due to injuries. Availability is the best ability and Bourne finished the 2020 season with 49 receptions for 667 yards for two touchdowns. The receptions and yards were second-most among all 49ers pass catchers.
Bourne entered the 2021 offseason as a free agent. He’d end up signing a three-year, $15 million deal with the New England Patriots. Now paid and a solidified role on an NFL team, Bourne would have his best season of his career: 55 catches for 800 yards and five touchdowns. Bourne maximized his opportunities, finishing No. 1 in Target Premium (+53.1%), and No. 2 in Yards Per Target (11.4) and Fantasy Points Per Target (2.58).
