This could be a future-altering offseason for the New England Patriots. We thought they had the successor to Bill Belichick in Jarod Mayo, but that lasted just one season. Now the Patriots have turned to Mike Vrabel to clean things up.
With Vrabel now in the driver seat, he has a chance to completely change the Patriots’ trajectory in one offseason. Not only do they have favorable cap space, but they also hold the No. 4 pick. They don’t have the pressure of drafting a quarterback with belief Drake Maye can be the future.
They have quite a few needs, particularly addressing the wide receiver position. Maye needs help on the offense. He also needs some protection. The good thing is they can address all of that without having to draft an unproven rookie.
Which begs the question, what would it take for them to become Super Bowl contenders in one offseason? The Washington Commanders were able to do it with the No. 2 pick last year. The Patriots could be next. But it requires careful evaluation and smart moves when the free agency window opens.
Here’s what it would take for the Patriots to go from AFC East bottom-feeders to dethroning the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC.
4 dream free agents the New England Patriots need to contend for Super Bowl 60
4) Tee Higgins, Wide receiver
Tee Higgins will be the most sought after free agent this offseason, including by the Cincinnati Bengals who are entertaining giving him a franchise tag to make sure no one else can go after him. While ESPN’s Matt Bowen thinks he’s the best fit with the Commanders, he’d be better in New England.
In Washington, he’d essentially go from being the No. 2 in Cincinnati to the No. 2 in Washington. Terry McLaurin finally got a quarterback and he immediately looked like he was supposed to after he was drafted out of Ohio State.
In New England, Higgins would be the No. 1 option. It’s the perfect situation for him. Maye showed he has a lot of potential and that can get brought out with an elite receiver. Maye will obviously need more than Higgins, but that’s a start.
They can address the No. 2 receiver option in the second round of the draft or potentially trade back – more on that later – to get one late in the first round.
This feels like the best move for a couple of reasons. For one, Higgins is going to get paid like a No. 1 receiver and showed just how valuable he is to an offense in Cincinnati this past season. He would absolutely elevate the Patriots offense in one season.
Cincinnati might need to accept they will have to part ways with Higgins this year. They won’t be able to pay everyone – though if they wanted to they could find the same loophole the Philadelphia Eagles did.
And if Higgins prefers a pay day over the possibility of winning a championship, then he should head to New England.
3) Alaric Jackson, Offensive tackle
Outside of addressing their receiver deficiencies, the Patriots have to retool their offensive line as well this offseason to even think about competing in the division, let alone the conference. The Cincinnati Bengals were able to get their star receiver and in one season, take a depleted offensive line to the Super Bowl.
That probably won’t work with the Patriots. So one potential player to enlist would be Los Angeles Rams tackle Alaric Jackson. He’s young enough that he can be a long term solution, while adding some veteran experience so Maye doesn’t have to worry about a rookie protecting his blindside.
The joy of having so much cap space to work with as well is they can address multiple needs and truly use the draft to get the best available player rather than feeling like they need to take a gamble.
They could opt to anchor down their offensive line with Will Campbell out of LSU with the fourth pick as well. I’d only do that if they addressed all their skill player needs in free agency.
2) D.J. Reed, Cornerback
The Patriots already have a young cornerback in Christian Gonzalez, but the veteran experience of D.J. Reed could bolster their secondary. Reed was one of the top defensive backs, despite playing on an underperforming New York Jets defense.
While he didn’t have any interceptions in 2024, he had 11 passes defended in 14 games. His biggest contribution was the fact that he finished with 64 tackles as a cornerback. He also had a sack this year.
The Patriots finished the season with a top 10 passing defense, despite only forcing just 11 interceptions. Where he can be an asset is in the run game. Because of his ability to make tackles as a defensive back. The Patriots had one of the worst run defenses. So adding him could benefit both facets of the defense.
1) Josh Sweat, Edge rusher
Continuing with addressing the most important needs for the Patriots, the next player they should look at this free agency is Josh Sweat. He’s coming off a Super Bowl campaign that saw him record 10.5 sacks between the regular season and playoffs.
The good thing with possibly bringing Sweat in is they can get some veteran experience to their defensive line. And if Abdul Carter is still sitting there at the fourth pick, they could have two elite pass rushers.
When I previously mentioned trading back to get a wide receiver, if Carter isn’t there or possibly Travis Hunter, it may be worth the Patriots to trade back and get Emeka Egbuka, Isaiah Bond or even Luther Burden III at the end of the first round.
The Patriots have a lot of freedom and could drastically change how good they will be in one offseason. The problem with having a lot of options is it's also easy to make the wrong one.