The New England Patriots had a busy offseason, but so did many other contenders.
One of the biggest moves of the offseason came on June 1, when the Los Angeles Rams acquired Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns. The old saying is "defense wins championships," and that move certainly helps the Rams build a championship defense. The Patriots' defense is also elite, but Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport thinks they are just the sixth-best in the league after offseason moves.
Davenport listed the Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Rams and Houston Texans ahead of the Patriots. The Patriots' defense was good enough to win the AFC last season, but they did see some changes in the offseason.
The Patriots lost Khyiris Tonga and K'Lavon Chaisson. However, they did sign Dre'Mont Jones and Kevin Byard. The star of their defense is still Christian Gonzalez, who will look to build on another great season.
"The defensive backfield is loaded. Christian Gonzalez is one of the NFL's best young cornerbacks," wrote Davenport. "Veteran Carlton Davis III has eight NFL seasons and 105 career starts under his belt who won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Pats also added a first-team All-Pro safety in free agency in Kevin Byard III, who has led the league in interceptions twice—including last year. Front to back, there are far more strengths than weaknesses on the New England defense in 2026."
The Patriots' defense figures to once again be elite, but it's hard to rank them ahead of any of the defenses Davenport has ahead of them. It can be argued that the Eagles are not as good as the Patriots, but the Rams, Texans, Seahawks and Broncos are clearly the four best defenses in football.
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