FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — In Drake Maye’s debut, it was no surprise that Demario “Pop” Douglas was his favorite target.

The shifty Patriots’ wideout saw nine passes thrown his way – nobody else on the team had more than five targets – and Douglas finished with six catches for 92 yards and his first career touchdown. He drew a 13-yard pass interference penalty, too. Whether Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe, or Maye, it hasn’t taken long for Douglas to become a young quarterback’s best friend.

“Pop, you can’t guard him in a phone booth,” Maye said on Wednesday morning. “He’s tough to guard in man coverage and he’s got the knack for finding zone. So he’s a great, great guy to have out there. Makes my job a little easier.

“Any time you see a man matchup, Pop is somebody that you want to go to,” Maye reiterated.

Per Next Gen Stats, the Patriots are 27th in the league in separation, but Douglas has easily been the best of the bunch among wideouts with at least 50 routes run. The second-year receiver’s eyes light up when he sees an opponent trying to match him with man coverage.

“Most definitely,” Douglas said at his locker on Wednesday. “I get excited when I see man because that’s my job, to get open in man coverage.”

Douglas has been shaking defenders in man coverage since his first training camp, when he was expected to fly under the radar as a sixth-round pick last summer. Instead, the Liberty product put on a clinic in 1-on-1 drills, routinely leaving veterans in the dust, and said a key to his success in winning those matchups on Sundays still starts on the practice field.

“I work hard for that stuff,” Douglas said. “I just take practice to the game. If I see man in practice, I work on it and then come to the game and it’ll be the same. I’ll be like, ‘Man.’ The practice squad does (well) mirroring how the other team plays, and it’s like I’ve seen it already. Then I come to it and, man, it’s like second nature.”

In the offseason, he also spent time with a few different coaches in Florida trying to sharpen his skills.

“Just to get out of stuff faster,” Douglas said. “Releases and things like that. Those guys do a great job of coaching and really paying attention to my feet.”

With fleet footwork becoming second nature, it’s a safe bet that Maye is going to keep looking Douglas’ way whenever he sees man coverage on Sunday afternoons.

MORE CHANGE IS COMING for the Patriots’ starting lineup. After starting 1-5 this season, Coach Jerod Mayo already made one big change when he benched veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett in favor of rookie Maye last week against Houston.

Now, with a trip to London next, it appears the Patriots are making more changes.

“There will definitely be changes in the starting lineup,” Mayo said Wednesday. “Look, we’ve got to put the best guys out there that give us the best chance to win.”

For the Patriots, changes could happen on both sides of the ball.

On the offensive line, with left tackle Vederian Lowe suffering another injury, look for the team to move Demontrey Jacobs from right tackle to left tackle. That would also push Michael Onwenu from right tackle to right guard and allow the Patriots to insert rookie Layden Robinson back to right guard.

At receiver, Mayo said earlier this week that DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte and Kendrick Bourne have been the team’s best wideouts. That could mean rookie Ja’Lynn Polk heads to the bench in favor of Bourne. Polk has caught two of 10 targets over the past two weeks.

On defense, it’ll be interesting to see if Mayo makes a switch at linebacker. Veteran Raekwon McMillan struggled last week against Houston. The Patriots could play Christian Elliss (four tackles and a half sack) or Sione Takitaki (activated last week) at the position.

“I would just say we have to be better,” Mayo said about the linebacker position. “We’re not playing at the level that we need to. Look, (Ja’Whaun) Bentley’s not coming back anytime soon, so we need someone to step up in that role. Whether you get that from the linebacker room or the safety room, you just need to have better production out of that group.”

One issue is having is penalties. This season, the Patriots have been called for 37 penalties for 327 yards, tied for 17th in the NFL.

The most common penalties on offense have been holding (10), false starts (6) and illegal formations (5). On defense the most common has been defensive pass interference (6).

“I will say this. There will be changes for this game,” Mayo said. “My message to the coaches and the players, really, we want our most dependable players out there that we can really count on. If you’re going to have, pre-snap, post-snap penalties, we can’t live that way. I guess to answer your question, it’s the personnel part of it, like a wake-up call.”

PRACTICE REPORT: Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson, left tackle Vederian Lowe and defensive back Marcus Jones were missing at practice Wednesday.

Stevenson has now missed four straight practices with the foot injury he sustained in a Week 5 home loss to Miami. He did not play last Sunday against the Texans and could be in danger of missing this weekend’s trip to London to play the Jaguars.

If Stevenson sits again, backup Antonio Gibson will likely receive a second straight start. Gibson rushed for 19 yards on 13 carries last weekend, but ranks among the league’s leaders in yards gained after contact.

Lowe hurt his ankle in the first half against Houston and did not return. He underwent an MRI on Monday. Jones had been listed on prior injury reports with a hurt groin. He played most of Sunday’s game against the Texans.