Top offseason priorities for New England Patriots

The offseason started with big news for the New England Patriots when they opted to move on from Jerod Mayo as head coach after one season and hire Mike Vrabel.

Vrabel has a strong coaching track record as he led the Tennessee Titans to three playoff appearances, including a conference title game appearance, in six seasons. Now, he returns to the organization where he won three Super Bowls as a player.

The good news for Vrabel is that New England has a very promising young quarterback in Drake Maye to build around. The bad news is there is a lot of work that needs to be done with the rest of the roster before this team is in a position to compete.

New England heads into the offseason armed with $124 million in cap space and nine draft selections, including the fourth overall pick.

Let’s break down the Patriots’ main priorities for building their roster for next season and beyond.

Offensive Line

To set Drake Maye up for success, it’s pivotal that the Patriots rebuild their offensive line.

David Andrews at center and Mike Onwenu at right guard or right tackle are each starting-quality players but New England should be looking for replacements at the three other starting spots.

Some of the top offensive linemen available in free agency this offseason include Trey Smith, Ronnie Stanley, Cam Robinson and Will Fries. New England has the cap space to spend big money on one of those players and also pursue the market for mid-level free agents who can raise the floor of the unit without costing north of $10 million per year.

Wide Receiver

New England invested second- and fourth-round picks in wide receivers last year in Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, respectively, but each player was a major disappointment in their rookie season.

While DeMario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte can be solid complementary options in the passing game, the Patriots desperately need a No. 1 receiver. That is why they should be heavily pursuing Tee Higgins if the star wide receiver doesn’t re-sign with the Bengals.

Find value for the defensive line

New England struggled to get after the quarterback last season, as it was dead last in the NFL in sacks and 29th in pressure rate.

It’s impossible to fix every roster issue in one offseason, but edge-rusher and defensive tackle are each position groups that New England should be trying to find value at, whether that’s via the free-agent market or in the draft.

Cowboys edge-rusher Chauncey Golston is an example of a player New England should be looking to target in the free-agent market. Golston, who will turn 27 this month, is affordable and can play a good chunk of snaps as he’s a solid pass-rusher and run defender.

Long-term solution at cornerback across from Christian Gonzalez

One of the lone bright spots for New England last season was the play of Christian Gonzalez. The 2023 first-round pick already looks like one of the top corners in football.  

Pairing Gonzalez with another strong corner who can consistently execute man coverage assignments would not only make the cornerback room a major strength, but it would give the unit the flexibility to blitz more frequently on third downs and play heavier boxes on first downs.