Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf has a busy offseason ahead of him as he attempts to fill his team's needs.
Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf has a busy offseason ahead of him as he attempts to fill his team's needs.Charlie Riedel/Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — On the heels of their impressive and improbable Super Bowl run, the Patriots recognize their team is in need of significant changes.
“I’m really proud of our players,” executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said Tuesday at the NFL combine. “They bought in quickly. They figured out how to win. But I think everyone on the roster is aware that we still need some pieces, that we’re going to create as much competition as we possibly can.”
Even though much of the 53-man roster is set to return, with just six unrestricted free agents, the Patriots aren’t just one move, or even two, away from a return to the Super Bowl. They have wide-ranging needs on both sides of the ball.
“We’re going to explore every avenue to try to improve the team,” Wolf said. “We filled a lot of needs last year and we’re still building. We have areas that maybe we feel good about the starters, but maybe the depth is not where we want it to be. We have areas where we maybe need to add a starter. I think it’s going to be sort of a holistic approach.”
Let’s take a look at what we learned about the team’s plans to improve this offseason …
1. It would not be surprising to see the Patriots use both an early- and late-round draft pick on an edge rusher, addressing one of their biggest deficiencies.
“I think it’s a fairly deep class at that position,” Wolf said. “That’s obviously an area of need for our team, so it matches up nicely.”
According to Wolf, the Patriots are looking for edge rushers that boast explosiveness, violence, first-step quickness, and the ability to win in multiple ways. Although New England’s pass rush upped its pressure rate and sacks last season, the unit could not consistently get after the quarterback and ranked below average in win rate.
“There’s got to be a violence,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “There’s got to be an ability to move off the football and to create some sort of disruption. You have to be able to factor in on the quarterback. You have to be able to make plays on the football. We know the quarterback is responsible for the most turnovers in football. So, can they affect the quarterback?”
Even if the Patriots are able to re-sign pending free agent K’Lavon Chaisson, they undoubtedly need more speed and power at the position. Wolf said Harold Landry is expected to return, but he dealt with a knee injury and lost his effectiveness by the end of last season.
Options for the Patriots with the 31st overall pick include Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell, Miami’s Akheem Mesidor, Oklahoma’s Mason Thomas, and Missouri’s Zion Young.
Patriots rookie Jared Wilson spent last season at left guard, but could be an option to play center moving forward.
Patriots rookie Jared Wilson spent last season at left guard, but could be an option to play center moving forward.Greg M. Cooper/Associated Press
2. It sounds as though the Patriots are open to moving rookie left guard Jared Wilson to center, the spot where he has the most experience.
Wilson took reps at both positions during training camp, but settled in at left guard. Despite playing center in college, Wilson held his ground in the new position and flashed the athleticism that made him such a compelling prospect.
As expected, though, Wilson experienced growing pains. According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed four sacks and 14 pressures during the postseason. Opposing edge rushers often took advantage of New England’s left side of the line with two rookies.
So, might it make more sense to move Wilson to center? Or do the Patriots want to keep him at left guard because they believe he and left tackle Will Campbell will take a leap in Year 2?
“He had never played guard before,” Wolf said. “He had good moments and bad moments, but he certainly has the physical ability to play there, and he also has the intelligence and the vocal ability to play center, so I think those are conversations we’re still having.”
Wilson prepared as the backup center to Garrett Bradbury throughout last season, according to Vrabel. Bradbury, who will turn 31 in June, is under contract for 2026, but the Patriots can release him with minimal financial implications. They would create just $1.2 million in dead money and free up $5.7 million in salary cap space.
The most likely outcome is the Patriots add a starting-caliber interior lineman, with the hopes that Wilson can beat out Bradbury for the starting center job. Although Bradbury served as an incredible and necessary leader for the offensive line last season, the Patriots need to prioritize upgrading the position group.
Based on the pre-draft discourse surrounding Wilson, a move to center should be a no-brainer.
“I had one general manager who said, ‘Jared Wilson is the lone Pro Bowl, potential All-Pro center in this draft,’ that if you had to draft him right now, you would know what you would get,” said Duke Manyweather, who trained Wilson ahead of the combine last year. “The team that said that was set at center, but he was their No. 1 center on the board.”
3. The Patriots have maintained that rookie Will Campbell is staying at left tackle and that soon-to-be 35-year-old Morgan Moses is returning at right tackle, but they acknowledged tackle remains a position of need. The urgency to add a tackle only increases if they lose Vederian Lowe and Thayer Munford Jr. in free agency.
Vrabel already said that Moses will not be taking every rep during training camp, so there will be an opportunity for rookie Marcus Bryant (and whoever the Patriots draft/sign at the position).
“I don’t think you could have too many guys that can protect the most important piece of your team offensively,” Vrabel said. “We need competition. I know that competition makes everybody better. That’s something I know we want to do is to try to provide competition at all those spots.”
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs's future is in doubt with the Patriots this offseason, but he finished with 1,013 receiving yards in his first season with the team.
Wide receiver Stefon Diggs's future is in doubt with the Patriots this offseason, but he finished with 1,013 receiving yards in his first season with the team.Lynne Sladky/Associated Press
4. All of the Patriots wide receivers are under contract, so they’re going to have to part ways with at least one of them if they want to improve the corps this offseason.
The most likely candidate is veteran Stefon Diggs, who is set to carry the team’s second-highest cap number at $26.5 million. Both Wolf and Vrabel’s comments this week made it clear Diggs’s future in New England is in doubt.
The Patriots know top-end wide receivers rarely, if ever, hit free agency because the teams that drafted them will extend them. So, in order to acquire a traditional No. 1 wideout, they’re going to have to swing a splashy trade or take yet another chance in the draft.
The team is also hopeful that rookie Kyle Williams, taken in the third round last year, can earn a more significant role next season.
5. After back-to-back 4-13 seasons, the Patriots are hopeful that their Super Bowl run, coupled with the tandem of Vrabel and quarterback Drake Maye, has made the team an appealing destination for free agents.
The team currently has $42.9 million in salary cap space, with the ability to create more. Some of the top free agents at positions of need include tight ends Isaiah Likely and Cade Otton, wide receivers Mike Evans and Alec Pierce, edge rushers Odafe Oweh and Jaelan Phillips, and guard Alijah Vera-Tucker.
“Now that we’ve established a winning culture that we hope we can maintain, it makes us even more attractive,” Wolf said.
After making it to the Super Bowl, it’s time to debate what the best moves for the Patriots are in the offseason.
Nicole Yang can be reached at nicole.yang@globe.com. Follow her on X @nicolecyang.