That said, Vrabel and personnel chief Eliot Wolf still have work to do. With the Patriots reportedly planning on releasing star [WR Stefon Diggs](https://x.com/NFL/status/2029293024505901352?s=20) at the start of the league year on Wednesday, the Pats need to replace Diggs' production as their No. 1 receiver. Along with finding a coverage-dictating engine to the passing game, New England reportedly dealt [C Garrett Bradbury](https://x.com/DMRussini/status/2030057904825323910?s=20) to the Bears, opening the door for 2025 third-rounder Jared Wilson to move to his natural position. Wilson likely moving to the pivot is the right approach, but the Patriots need to fill the hole at left guard and continue to build depth on the offensive line.
The overreaction or need for instant gratification in free agency is part of the deal in sports. Fans and pundits alike grow restless if the team doesn't instantly improve its roster by taking part in the initial wave involving high-priced free agents, and the Patriots have to get aggressive at some point to upgrade the supporting cast around star QB Drake Maye. However, the additions of Gilliam and Jones addressed two roster spots that Vrabel and Wolf highlighted as areas of need at the NFL Scouting Combine last month.
Defensively, the Patriots top brass identified edge rusher as a major need. Last season, New England didn't get enough pressure from their standard four-man rushes. When they didn't blitz, the Pats ranked just 16th in pressure rate at 31.4%. Their pressure rate rose to 48.5%, fifth-best in the NFL, when they brought extra rushers, the third-largest delta between non-blitz and blitz pressure rate (+17.4%). When you have a good secondary, you can afford to ramp up the blitzing like New England did in the postseason. Still, that's a tough way to live. Plus, pressure-leader K'Lavon Chaisson remains unsigned as an unrestricted free agent.
Along with edge rusher, Vrabel also wants to get stronger offensively, specifically pointing to the younger offensive players on the roster developing their bodies in an interview with Patriots.com. From this perspective, Vrabel's comments about players improving their play strength this offseason spoke to his desire to play a more physical brand of football. New England ranked just 25th in rush EPA last season, which isn't the norm for Vrabel or OC Josh McDaniels in their coaching history.
By adding Gilliam and Jones, the Patriots began improving their rush offense and building out their EDGE depth, two areas of emphasis this offseason. Again, they still need to make more impactful additions, specifically a pass-catcher or two on offense, but these signings are often overlooked in March and then pay dividends in December and January, as we saw last season. Let's break down the film on what Gilliam and Jones will bring to the Patriots next season.
To start things off, let's make one thing clear: I will never brush off adding an impact lead-blocker into the Patriots offense. The fullback is back in Foxborough and that is a good thing.
Heading into the offseason, we highlighted that it was a strong free-agent fullback class with Gilliam (PFF's highest-rated fullback) joining six-time Pro Bowler Patrick Ricard and Chargers FB Alec Ingold as UFAs. New England opted to sign the 28-year-old Gilliam, a more athletic move blocker who, at 6-feet, 244 pounds, was a fixture inside the Bills zone-based run scheme. Buffalo led the league in rushing with the NFL's rushing king, James Cook, last season, and Gilliam played a role in paving the way for Cook with a 20.8% snap rate in 2025.
Before we get into Gilliam's film, McDaniels's history with fullbacks is well-documented in his stints as the Patriots offensive play-caller and his time in Las Vegas. Last season, New England featured two-back formations on 22.4% of its offensive plays, down roughly six percent from McDaniels' full season as Raiders head coach (28.6%) and his 2021 season with the Patriots (28.3%). From 2021-22, McDaniel's offenses led the league in two-back usage, while New England was second in two-back formation rate in 2025.
Last season, Jack Westover, a tight end, transitioned into a fullback role when undrafted rookie Brock Lampe suffered a season-ending injury in training camp. McDaniels featured the fullback slightly less last season because the Pats weren't effective running the ball out of two-back personnel. New England averaged just 3.1 yards per rush with an 8.3% explosive run rate and -0.04 EPA per rush with a fullback on the field. The Patriots were also just 11th in EPA per pass out of two-back personnel, so they weren't overly productive with creating play-action yards or mismatches when they went to fullback groupings.
Ultimately, the goal is to run the ball well out of two-back groupings to set up favorable passing opportunities through run+play-action sequencing. New England ('21) and Vegas ('22) averaged 4.6 yards per rush with a fullback on the field under McDaniels, which created opportunities to marry play-action plays and out-formation teams who were forced into heavy defensive personnel against run packages, creating a sustainable early-down base offense as a core concept for McDaniels.