New England Patriots Rookie Profile: Will Hastings
- Position: wide receiver
- Age: 23
- Hometown: Little Rock, AR
- College: Auburn
Measurables
- Height: 5-foot-10
- Weight: 174 pounds
- Arms: N/A
- Hands: N/A
Combine Results
- N/A
Wideout Will Hastings has a leg up on his fellow teammates that are also new to the New England Patriots' roster. Why? Because he has rapport with the team's projected starting quarterback.
Back in 2017, Jarrett Stidham played with Hastings at Auburn. That season marked the best season to-date for both players, and it had to do with their connection with each other. Hastings had 26 catches for 525 yards - a whopping 20.2 yards per catch - and four touchdowns. Hastings reeled in seven of 10 targets that were 20+ yards downfield (70%), which made him one of only four players in the country that year to bring in over 60% of their targets that far down the field, per PFF.
Unfortunately for Hastings, all momentum from the 2017 was put to an abrupt end when he tore his ACL and missed the entire 2018 season, which was also Stidham's final season at Auburn. And at no surprise, Stidham also experienced a dip in production. When Hastings returned to the field in 2019, he had a very quiet season, catching 19 balls for 222 yards and one score, which is one of the main reasons why he went undrafted this year.
Hastings does most of his damage from the slot, which could help him make the Patriots' roster. New England is looking for a successor to Julian Edelman - who will enter the 2020 season at 34 years of age - and doesn't have anyone else besides Hastings on the roster that can be effective from inside the hashes that plays wideout.
To the surprise of no one at Auburn, New England signed Hastings following the draft. Because of his connection with Stidham, it could help the two of them show a strong chemistry during training camp and the preseason, which will ultimately help Hastings make the roster, as we projected would happen in our first 53-man roster projection for the 2020 season. Playing on a very cheap undrafted rookie contract, Hastings could learn from Edelman in 2020, and potentially take over the reigns in 2021 as the teams primary option out of the slot, which would result in incredible value from a financial standpoint.
