New England Patriots
Projected Cap Space: $69.3 million
Draft Picks: 7
- 1st (No. 3)
- 2nd (No. 34)
- 3rd (No. 68)
- 4th (No. 104)
- 5th (No. 136)
- 6th (No. 182)
- 7th (No. 229, CHI)
Notable Free Agents:
- OL Michael Onwenu
- S Kyle Dugger
- OLB Josh Uche
- TE Hunter Henry
- LT Trent Brown
- TE Mike Gesicki
- RB Ezekiel Elliott
- WR Kendrick Bourne
- CB Myles Bryant
- OLB Anfernee Jennings
- OT Riley Reiff
- LB Mack Wilson
Top Three Needs
1 – Quarterback
It’s a new era in New England. The Patriots have already taken a few stabs at finding a new quarterback to replace Tom Brady, and now Bill Belichick‘s successor, Jerod Mayo, will get to make the call.
The Patriots still have former first-rounder Mac Jones on the roster, plus Bailey Zappe who’s played ahead of him at times over the past two seasons. Jones will probably be traded as both sides are ready for a fresh start. If the Patriots get a fifth-round pick for Jones, that’ll be a strong return. Zappe might stick around as a backup but it also wouldn’t be surprising to see the Patriots add a new backup either.
Most of the ink will be spilled about their pursuit of a starter, however. The best chip the Patriots have is the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft which should put them in line to take one of the top three prospects. Fortunately for New England, this is a year with three quarterbacks who the general NFL consensus views as worthy of a top selection — USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels. That’s certainly not always the case, and there are teams picking lower who would pay up to swap places with the Patriots.
The downside is New England will get the third quarterback off the board. Maybe that ends up being their top guy, maybe it’s still a prospect with a high enough grade to be worthy of the pick. But it is still possible that if the Patriots don’t like one of the players at the top as much as another team, they could trade down.
At that point, there are at least half a dozen other viable paths for the Patriots to take. There’s a strong second tier of quarterback prospects consisting of Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. There’s a wide range of potential landing spots — McCarthy could also go in the top 10, Nix could end up in the first and Penix could land anywhere from late Day 1 to late Day 2. The Patriots could land one of those players, either in a trade back or moving around with their second-round pick, and then pair them with a veteran bridge starter.
The Patriots could also land a starter in free agency. Guys like Russell Wilson and Ryan Tannehill are available, and while neither is viewed as a long-term option at this point in their careers, they could bring in some steadiness. Others like Joe Flacco or Jacoby Brissett have connections to staff members like new OC Alex Van Pelt.
Finally, there’s the trade market. Bears QB Justin Fields is the headliner and likely wouldn’t cost a first-round pick to acquire. He has similar, if not superior, upside to some of the second-tier rookies, but he has just one more year remaining on his rookie contract. There are some other trade possibilities — Commanders QB Sam Howell perhaps — but none with the sizzle of Fields.
2 – Wide Receiver
New England needs to become far more explosive and it will start by revamping a skill position group that hasn’t scared defenses since Julian Edelman was playing. The best receiver on the team right now is probably 2023 sixth-rounder Demario Douglas, who had 49 catches for 561 yards and looked like New England’s most explosive player on offense. Those are pretty good numbers for a sixth-round rookie, but it’s probably better for the team and the player if Douglas is the No. 3 and not the No. 1 in 2024.
While veterans like DeVante Parker and JuJu Smith-Schuster have notable guaranteed salaries in 2024, they don’t have to have guaranteed roles. Parker could be a situational red zone threat which might help him find a small role, or garner some trade value. Smith-Schuster is owed $7 million which seems like a huge miscalculation based on reports that he has a serious knee injury slowing him down. Bourne is rehabbing a torn ACL and doesn’t seem like he’ll be back.
It’s looking like an outstanding draft for wide receivers, but the Patriots also have tons of cap space. Signing receivers in free agency is like navigating a minefield most of the time but there are some potentially interesting players who could make sense in the right role. Bills WR Gabriel Davis, Bears WR Darnell Mooney and Commanders WR Curtis Samuel are interesting options to potentially beef up the depth chart.
3 – Offensive Line
It’s not that the Patriots don’t need help on defense, it’s more so that the offense is just so far behind that it needs a total overhaul. It might be easiest to just go left to right. At left tackle, New England is losing Brown, who was an above-average player on the field and a headache with everything else. The Patriots won’t miss Brown but finding a new left tackle is a major priority.
At left guard, former first-round G Cole Strange probably gets a little more time to live up to his surprise draft status. Veteran C David Andrews remains solid. He’s 31 years old so the team does have to start thinking about the future at some point. Right guard is completely up in the air. At the moment, mid-round picks from last year like Sidy Sow or Atonio Mafi would be penciled in. There’s a ton of room for the Patriots to upgrade here and it makes sense to go after a free agent.
Right tackle was a turnstile to start the season until the Patriots moved Onwenu from right guard out to tackle. That might be the best value and fit going forward for the two sides. Onwenu won’t be cheap but he should absolutely be a huge priority for the Patriots to re-sign even if it borders on $20 million a year annually. He’s their best player on offense right now and would be a coveted free agent on the open market.
One Big Question
What do the new-look Patriots look like?
It’s been literal decades since Belichick wasn’t running every aspect of New England’s football operation. There’s a good chance some of you reading this article weren’t alive or can’t remember a pre-Belichick Patriots team. Things are going to look different.
There won’t be any real expectations for the Patriots in 2024. The roster is in bleak shape and Mayo is a first-year head coach making the jump from position coach. There’s a new approach in the front office and a new scheme on offense. There will be a new quarterback. Owner Robert Kraft wants to win sooner rather than later, but realistically 2024 will be about feeling out this brave new world and hopefully winning the lottery on another quarterback to bring the team back to real success.
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