Mr. Steady: Teammates hold Phillip Dorsett in high regard as he caps yo-yo season with a flourish

FOXBOROUGH — No one on the Patriots’ roster has had a year like Phillip Dorsett.

The receiver was an every-down guy at the start of the 2018 season, a vital part of a passing game that struggled to find its footing. Over the first five games, Dorsett had 19 catches and a pair of touchdowns while the Patriots tried to patch together a receiving corps that was without Julian Edelman and had yet to incorporate Josh Gordon into the mix.

Then, Edelman returned to full strength, while Gordon and Cordarrelle Patterson also emerged as viable targets. Dorsett? He fell off the radar screen completely, going from a consistent part of the offense to someone who barely hit double-digits when it came to snaps the rest of the way. To his credit, there was nary a peep from the speedster, who simply put his head down and continued to work and wait for another opportunity.

Then, on Sunday, with Gordon now out of the picture completely and Patterson sidelined because of a bad knee, the Patriots turned back to Dorsett, who responded with five catches for 34 yards and a pair of carries for 16 yards in the 38-3 win over the Jets.

A graph of his playing time this season would look like the Golden Gate Bridge — a spike at the beginning and the end, with a sizable dip in the middle.

“I didn’t take it personal,” Dorsett said after Sunday’s win. “I just kept going and kept working hard. Stayed in the game plan. Just made sure I was ready for anything.”

Talking to his teammates after the game, one thing was clear: Dorsett might have been the guy on the roster best suited to such a yo-yo year. Ask pretty much anyone in the New England locker room, and they’ll tell you the former Miami product is one of the most even-tempered, unfazed guys you will ever come across. As a result, it was no surprise to them that when his opportunity did come back around again on Sunday, he was ready.

“I sit right next to Phil every day in meetings,” backup quarterback Brian Hoyer told BostonSportsJournal.com.



“He’s always in a great mood. He’s always ready to go. He never complains about anything, whether he’s getting all the reps on our offense and getting scout teams reps at the same time, or what. He’s out there doing it all. He goes hard.

“He’s always positive. That attitude is the type of attitude that will always keep you ready to go. I have a great appreciation for Phil and his role and what he can do. You can see it every day in the practice fields, the meetings, the walkthroughs -- he’s a guy who’s committed to do what is right for the team.”

While it’s one thing for a guy like Dorsett to have patience, to Hoyer’s point, Dorsett’s positional flexibility was also a boost. When he was out there this season, his ability to line up at multiple spots has allowed the Patriots to use him in a number of ways. His film study and attention to detail during practice this year was a big part of that, according to his teammates.

“Phil, comes in, works really hard, and practices really hard. In every phase — special teams, scout team, first team, second team,” said Julian Edelman. “He’s a great teammate who works extremely hard. He’s going to make plays for us. He’s shown that he can through the season. I’m glad we have him, because we’re going to need him. It was great to see him go out there and catch some rocks (Sunday).”