New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel holds a press conference before minicamp at Gillette Stadium.
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The New England Patriots are not living in the past. They rose from the depths last year to take the AFC East title and then picked up their game even further in the postseason by winning three playoff games and representing the AFC in the Super Bowl.
While they were handled with relative ease by the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl, the Patriots were not willing to rest on their laurels and think that they could maintain their position without any issue. They went about the serious business of improving their team — and specifically improving their passing game — by upgrading their receivers.
That appears to be an excellent strategy because the Patriots have a young quarterback in Drake Maye who came into his own last season. He had an excellent season and threw for 4,394 yards with 31 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, but general manager Eliot Wolf has given head coach Mike Vrabel and Maye a pair of game-changing receivers.
The presence of A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs are going to give the Patriots an explosive quality that was missing last season. While Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte were competent receivers, the new top pair gives the New England offense an elite characteristic.
Brown is a seven-year veteran who has starred with the Titans and Eagles. While his association with Eagles QB Jalen Hurts did not always run in an ideal manner, he was extremely productive in his four seasons in Philadelphia. He caught a career-high 106 passes for 1,456 yards with 7 touchdowns in 2023 and he caught 78-1,003-7 last year.
Doubs was a high-level receiver for the Packers in his four seasons in Green Bay. He caught 55-724-6 last season and should form a great 1-2 punch with Brown.
However, while the Patriots' starters look more than solid, Vrabel and Wolf are concerned about the Patriots reserves.
Patriots lack game-changing pass rushers
New England Patriots linebacker Gabe Jacas (50) in the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium.
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The Patriots have decided to go with defensive end Milton Williams and former Raven Dre'Mont Jones as their primary pass rushers. While both are solid players, neither one has had an elite impact to this point.
However, the Pats are hoping that both are going to step up in that area this season. Williams had 29 tackles last year along with 3.5 sacks, 8 tackles for loss and 1 pass batted down. He was far more impactful in the postseason as he had 7 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 4 tackles for loss and 1 pass batted down. Defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr is depending on Williams to pick up where he left off during New England's 4-game run in the postseason.
Jones is a 7-year veteran who split time with the Titans and Ravens last year. The edge rusher had 43 tackles and 7.0 sacks along with 1 pass defensed and 2 fumble recoveries. He has a chance to be the team's primary edge rusher since Williams is more of an interior player.
Neither Williams nor Jones are superstars, but they should be productive. However, when the Pats work Gabe Jacas and Joshua Farmer into the rotation, they are going to have big problems.
Jacas was supposed to be a game-changing pass rusher after the Pats drafted him with their second-round pick out of Illinois this year. However, he has not looked ready during training camp and it may take him weeks — or perhaps a full season — before he can handle his edge rusher responsibilities.
Farmer played very little last year and is going to back up Williams as an interior defensive lineman. He has not proven he can play at an elite or competent level at this point.
Depth is a big problem at multiple spots for the Patriots
In addition to their pass-rush problems, the Patriots have depth issues throughout their defense. Linebackers Robert Spillane, Christian Ellis and Elijah Ponder should be quite productive, but what happens when Vrabel has to look to the backups? K.J. Britt was decent during his time with the Dolphins, but he may have issues making the adjustment to the Patriots.
Even if he is competent, the other reserve linebackers Namdi Obiazor and Quintayvious Hutchins don't appear to be the kind of players who can hold the line and make consistent contributions
The secondary should be one of the team's greatest strengths with cornerback Christian Gonzalez and former Bear Kevin Byard leading the way, but the lack of depth is concerning. They recently traded Boutte to the Texans for safety Jaylen Reed. Until that trade was made, the Patriots did not appear to have any safety who could make a key play as a reserve.
Reed played 7 games as a rookie and had 14 tackles and 1 fumble recovery. He has 12 of those tackles in a midseason 23-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills