Patriots Playoff Buzz Starting to Grow

The New England Patriots are coming off of a pair of four-win campaigns, so you wouldn't expect them to be ready to contend for a playoff spot anytime soon.

However, the Patriots have spent an awful lot of money this offseason, so there is some buzz growing about New England potentially pushing for a playoff spot in 2025.

Throw Ben Volin of The Boston Globe into the mix of pundits who believe that the Pats have a shot of making the postseason next year, as he made it clear during a recent appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd that he isn't ruling out the possibility.

"The arrow is pointing up in Foxborough, and it's not crazy to predict them as a playoff team," Volin said.

But is it too soon? The Patriots are still wildly unproven and have some significant holes they still must address, namely along the offensive line and in their receiving corps.

Yes, New England added tackle Morgan Moses and center Garrett Bradbury in free agency, and it did sign Stefon Diggs to a three-year deal. But netiher Moses nor Bradbury are stars, and Diggs is recovering from a torn ACL.

The Pats definitely need to strike big in the NFL Draft later this month in order to truly solidify themselves as legitimate threats in the AFC, and it's going to be difficult for them to patch up all of their glaring weaknesses in one fell swoop.

The Patriots are fortunate to be playing in the weaker conference, as there is no doubt that the NFC is the deeper of the two at this point. Still, New England will have to contend with some pretty tough opponents, which will make a potential playoff push exceedingly difficult.