The Patriots should have the opportunity to trade for a superstar such as Eagles receiver A.J. Brown, but they'd be better off not.
The Patriots should have the opportunity to trade for a superstar such as Eagles receiver A.J. Brown, but they'd be better off not.Terrance Williams/Associated Press
Temptation awaits the Patriots as they attend the NFL Combine this week and flip the calendar to 2026.
The Patriots were this close to another championship, achieving a three-year rebuild in one year’s time. They’re back to being one of the NFL’s hottest teams, with an exciting young quarterback and a coach everyone wants to play for.
Now they should have the opportunity to trade for a superstar this offseason, whether it’s Eagles receiver A.J. Brown, Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby or maybe even the Browns’ Myles Garrett. Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf didn’t discount the Patriots trading their first-round pick, 31st overall.
“We’re open to anything,” Wolf said. “If we think it’s going to help the team both in the short and long term, then it’s something we’ll look at.”
Patriots fans should hope that Wolf was just using generic NFL speak, because it’s obvious how the Patriots need to proceed this offseason:
Stay the course. Do not trade draft picks. Do not be fooled by the Super Bowl run. Do not get drunk off success.
The 2025 season was a blessing, but also the result of plenty of good fortune that is unlikely to repeat in 2026 — injuries, the schedule, the travel, the weather throughout the playoffs.
The Patriots have to view themselves not as AFC champions, but as starting Year 2 of the Mike Vrabel era. They need to get younger and keep building organically if they want this success to be sustainable, not fleeting.
The Patriots were a new team in 2025, but they weren’t a young team, with 13 starters with at least six years of experience, many of whom were acquired in free agency.
Now they need youth. Both of their tight ends are 10-year veterans. Their right tackle will be 35. The linebackers and defensive tackles are on veteran contracts. Edge rusher is a big need.
And the Patriots have mostly neglected defense in the last two drafts. Their last seven picks in the top 100 have all been on offense. The defensive pipeline needs to be replenished.
The Patriots don’t have any premium picks this April thanks to reaching the Super Bowl, holding the 31st, 63rd, and 95th picks in the top three rounds. But with 11 picks overall, the Patriots have more than enough chances to restock the roster with young, malleable talent.
Patriots general manager Eliot Wolf has some key decisions to make this offseason about how he wants to improve his roster.
Patriots general manager Eliot Wolf has some key decisions to make this offseason about how he wants to improve his roster.Justin Casterline/Getty
Wolf gave most of the typical answers Tuesday during his two media sessions at the NFL Combine — the Patriots will be “open to anything,” “explore every avenue to try to improve the team,” and “try to do what’s best.”
But Wolf is the son of a scout and a draftnik at heart, and sounds like he wants to use his picks.
“I feel like every year for the last five years everyone says, ‘Oh, it’s not a good draft,’ ” Wolf said. “I don’t really buy that. I feel like if you’re doing your job, you’re going to be able to find players Rounds 1 through 7 that can help your team.”
Of course, Wolf doesn’t necessarily call the shots. If Vrabel or Robert Kraft wants Crosby or Brown, it’s probably going to happen.
Wolf likely doesn’t need to worry about Kraft, who has reiterated several times in recent years that “if you want to build a team that is going to win and sustain winning, you have to have good drafts.” Kraft understands the economics — rookies are younger, healthier, and locked into below-market contracts for at least three years.
Vrabel is more of a wild card. The former player in him would almost certainly love to coach a superstar such as Crosby or reunite with Brown, his former player in Tennessee. Vrabel surely is eager to erase the bad taste of the recent Super Bowl loss, as well.
Then again, everything Vrabel has done since coming back to the Patriots in the last year has been measured and deliberate. He doesn’t seem like he would scrap his long-term plans just because of some unexpected success or a tough performance in the Super Bowl.
“We’re all aware that we have more work to do on the roster,” Wolf said. “And so I don’t think that the fact that we made the Super Bowl does anything other than possibly make us a more attractive destination for free agents.”
By all means, the Patriots should go nuts in free agency again, though I would expect a more modest haul after last year’s NFL-high free agency spending, plus a potential mega-extension this offseason for Christian Gonzalez. The Patriots should bolster the offensive line and secondary with veteran free agents. It’s only money, which the Patriots have plenty of — around $42 million in salary-cap space as of Tuesday.
And if the Patriots can acquire a veteran starter for a sixth-round pick, then sure, go for it. The Patriots don’t need to use all five picks in the sixth and seventh rounds.
But they don’t need to be trading multiple first-round picks for Crosby, plus paying him a new contract of more than $45 million per year. It would be great for headlines, and terrible for the long-term health of the Patriots.
They don’t need to trade a premium pick(s) for Brown, who will make $29 million next season. Not when the Patriots have a perfectly good Stefon Diggs making $22 million and not costing draft picks (assuming his court case doesn’t affect his availability). Diggs “had a tremendous season,” Wolf said Tuesday, and “the leadership that he showed was great.” The Patriots’ receivers were terrific in 2025 and hardly the reason they lost the Super Bowl. It was the offensive line.
The Patriots also did well with their 2025 draft class, getting good to great contributions from seven players. After years of struggling in this area under Bill Belichick, the Patriots appear to have a coaching staff that knows how to develop and integrate rookies.
The Patriots are coming off an exciting and unexpected Super Bowl run, and surely are tempted to keep the party going with a big trade for a superstar.
But the best path forward is the sober path — stay the course and build through the draft.
After making it to the Super Bowl, it’s time to debate what the best moves for the Patriots are in the offseason.
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.