Patriots scouting report: Kobe Prentice might factor into the returner mix

The New England Patriots did not even make it through one training camp practice without suffering their first season-ending injury of the summer. On Sunday, after what appeared to be a harmless slip-up on his part the previous day, second-year man Jeremiah Webb was placed on IR and therefore shut down for the season.

To take his spot on the roster, the team turned to a wide receiver offering a similar profile: Kobe Prentice, who was added to the club through the waiver wire.

Hard facts

Name: Kobe Prentice

Position: Wide receiver

Jersey number: 19 (w)

Opening day age: 22 (3/10/2004)

Measurements: 5’9 5/8”, 184 lbs, 9 1/8” hand size, 30 1/8” arm length, 73 5/8” wingspan, 4.39s 40-yard dash, 7.16s 3-cone drill, 4.50s short shuttle, 36” vertical jump, 10’3” broad jump, 12 bench press reps, 5.76 Relative Athletic Score

Experience

NFL: Carolina Panthers (2026), New England Patriots (2026-) | College: Alabama (2022-24), Baylor (2025)

Prentice was a hot commodity coming out of Calera, AL, High School. The four-star recruit was the recipient of more than 20 scholarship offers, including from the University of Maryland. He initially committed to become a Terrapin, but when Alabama entered the mix shortly thereafter he changed his mind: he decommitted after just two weeks and moved to the Crimson Tide another two weeks later.

Prentice’s career in Tuscaloosa was off to a hot start, but after catching 31 passes for 337 yards and two touchdowns as a true freshman he failed to take the next step. He caught only 29 more passes over the next two seasons, and eventually entered the transfer portal to finish his college career with a one-year stint at Baylor.

Prentice did not hear his name called in the 2026 NFL Draft, but quickly agreed to a rookie free agent deal with the Panthers. He lasted only three months in Carolina before getting waived and subsequently claimed by the Patriots.

Scouting report

Strengths: Prentice is a speedster at the wide receiver position, whose 4.39-second 40-yard dash puts him in the 96th percentile among wide receivers. His explosiveness makes him a dangerous player with the ball in his hands and allows him to separate from coverage or pursuit players. In general, he transitions quickly from receiver to runner and is able to pick up yards after the catch. He also plays with a reliable set of mittens: a natural hands catcher, he dropped only five passes throughout his entire college career for a rate of 4.2%.

Weaknesses: Checking in at under 5-foot-10 and 184 pounds, Prentice is on the smaller side. Despite his stature, however, he also is not the shiftiest of players; he certainly is explosive and has great straight-line speed, but his agility is lacking both during his release and at his breaks. He also has been up and down as a blocker, a byproduct of his size, and has not showed a lot of versatility in college: between Alabama and Baylor, he primarily played in the slot and did not see any special teams snaps.

2025 review

Stats: 11 games (1 start) | 279 offensive snaps | 35 targets, 26 catches (74.3%), 380 receiving yards (14.6/catch), 6 TDs, 2 drops | 0 penalties

Season recap: After an encouraging start to his career at Alabama, Prentice fizzled out over his second and third seasons in the program. With only one year of eligibility remaining, he therefore decided to take matters into his own hands and entered he transfer portal while his junior season was still ongoing. Two weeks later, in mid-December, he officially moved to Baylor.

His first and only season with the Bears was a mixed bag. In some respects, Prentice bounced back from a lackluster 2024 campaign: he played the most offensive snaps of his career and also set new highs in terms of receiving yards (380), touchdowns (6) and average yards after the catch (7.5).

However, as was the case during his final year in Tuscaloosa, he again was used in a relatively limited capacity: he mostly played in the slot and ended up as the No. 4 wide receiver in most of the major categories, including playing time, targets, receptions and receiving yards. The only outlier was those aforementioned six touchdowns, which placed him second among his teammates.

Part of that might have been injuries. He dealt with some undisclosed bumps and bruises down the stretch that seemingly had a negative impact on his production: he averaged 44.2 receiving yards and 1.0 touchdowns over the first six games of the season, with those numbers dropping to 23.0 and 0 over the second half of the season.

2026 preview

Position: F-receiver | Ability: Camp body/Practice squad candidate | Contract: Signed through 2028 (2029 RFA)

What will be his role? Based on his college usage and first two practices in a Patriots uniform, Prentice projects as a slot receiver providing depth behind current top option DeMario Douglas. However, he also could fill a different role in New England: his first practice saw him used as a punt returner, a role he played neither at Alabama nor Baylor.

What is his growth potential? Prentice has some athletic skill that could help him find a spot in the NFL, but he likely will have to accept a specialized role. What could that role look like? Maybe he could be a rotational option on offense plus a kickoff and punt returner. Maybe he can grow beyond such a usage, but his college success suggests that there might be a cap on what he can do.

Does he have positional versatility? His size and average agility limit Prentice’s usage on offense; he primarily projects as a DeMario Douglas-like package player from the slot. Special teams, however, is where he could truly leave his mark if he can prove himself on kickoffs (where the Patriot have a definitive need) and punts (where Marcus Jones is an All-Pro talent).

What is his salary cap situation? Claiming Prentice off waivers meant that the Patriot absorbed the rookie contract he had received from the Panthers after the draft sans the $15,000 in guarantees they gave him. This mean that he currently is on a non-guaranteed $885,000 base salary that simultaneously functions as his cap hit. Under the Top 51 rule, however, he currently has no impact on New England’s books because that salary is not high enough to enter the group of 51 most-expensive cap figures.

How safe is his roster spot? Prentice has the talent to make it on an NFL team, but he is facing an uphill climb in New England. At the moment, A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte and Mack Hollins are the clear top five at the position, with sophomores Kyle Williams and Efton Chism fighting for the spot(s) behind. Unless there are injuries or trades, including top slot Douglas, the 22-year-old making the roster seems to be an unlikely outcome.

Summary: For Prentice to make the roster or at least New England’s practice squad, he will need to show that he can be a factor in the return game. The Patriots giving him reps in that area in his first practice might be a sign of things to come — and a positive one.

What do you think about Kobe Prentice heading into the 2026 season? Will he find a way onto the practice squad? Could he even factor into the kickoff return mix? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.