Teams around the league are preparing for the 2025-26 season with preseason kicking off in August. With speculation surrounding each franchise, it appears that one NFL insider believes the New England Patriots' offense could be a concern, following a recent column that gave them a low grade.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell ranked the Patriots' offense 30th in the league. He nitpicked New England's wide receiver core, pointing out that top wideout Stefon Diggs is coming back from an ACL injury. Outside of Diggs, Barnwell believes the offense doesn't have much of anything of significance to help the passing game.
“There isn't really a Plan B for the lead receiver without Diggs in the mix,” said Barnwell. “Mack Hollins and Pop Douglas are complementary players. Rookie third-rounder Kyle Williams will offer some much-needed speed, but he's not entering the league as a complete receiver who can win at all levels. Ja'Lynn Polk, a second-round pick last year, had an unbelievably bad rookie season, averaging 0.4 yards per route run. That figure ranks 147th out of 153 wide receivers taken with a first- or second-round pick since 2007. Just about everybody else at the bottom of that list failed to turn things around and live up to their predraft projection.”
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The popular NFL insider continues to question the legitimacy of the run game as well. Rhamondre Stevenson struggled quite a bit last season with fumbles, and Barnwell has concerns about rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson's size.
“Running back Rhamondre Stevenson has struggled with efficiency in a lead role over the past two seasons,” Barnwell continued. “You can understand that amid dismal offensive line play, but he also fumbled a whopping seven times on 240 touches last season, a figure the Patriots can't afford to live with again. Rookie second-rounder TreVeyon Henderson might not have the size to absorb a full-time workload as the starter, but barring a resurgence from Stevenson, he should be able to take over as the lead back in New England's rotation as the season goes along.”
Despite the concerning grade the offense received from Bill Barnwell, there is still plenty of excitement surrounding Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. The 22-year-old quarterback showed flashes of his potential in his rookie year, finishing with 2,276 passing yards and 15 touchdowns through the air while owning a 66.6% completion percentage through 13 games played.
a]:text-link [&_>a]:underline">Benedetto Vitale has nearly a decade of experience in sports journalism, with expertise in covering the NFL, NCAA Football, NBA, and UFC. The Oregon alumni resides in Corvallis, Oregon, and has previous bylines at BroBible and Athlon Sports.