Kirk Cousins hopes former teammate has 'huge year' with Patriots

New Falcons QB Kirk Cousins has played with several talented wide receivers in his 12-year NFL career, but he believes one hasn't gotten the respect he deserves.

That player is wide receiver K.J. Osborn, a fifth-round pick by the Vikings in 2020. 

Cousins played with Osborn in Minnesota for the past four years and is hoping the 26-year-old, who just joined the Patriots on a one-year deal this offseason, takes full advantage of his fresh start.

"K.J. Osborn is a receiver who was with us in Minnesota who was kind of in the shadow of Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen," Cousins said via Mark Daniels of MassLive.com. "He went to free agency and went to New England, and I'd love to see him have a huge year in New England kind of with a bigger role than what he had in Minnesota to show what he could do."

Although Osborn has been shadowed by Jefferson, Thielen and even Jordan Addison, the Vikings' 2023 first-round pick, he has still made the most of his opportunities. Over the past three years, Osborn has 158 catches for 1,845 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Osborn seems to be in line for a bigger role in New England, which will likely continue seeing a lot of roster turnover under new head coach Jerod Mayo.

He's joining a wide receiver room that already includes Kendrick Bourne, JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeMario Douglas, Tyquan Thornton, Jalen Reagor and Kayshon Boutte. However, none have established themselves as a No. 1 wide receiver.

Neither has Osborn, but Cousins seems to think he has much higher upside than most others believe. 

"I always felt like K.J. was better than the opportunities he got," Cousins added.

If Osborn can take his play to another level in 2024, he will be positioned to land an even larger contract next offseason.