After the [New England Patriots](https://nesn.com/new-england-patriots) made the trade they did for A.J. Brown during the NFL offseason with the Philadelphia Eagles, it was always fair to wonder what the front office wanted to do after that.
Head coach Mike Vrabel came out during the offseason and said that his team just wasn't good enough at the moment, talent-wise.
He didn't love his depth, defense, and some other areas of his roster. Instead of fixing some of those problems early on in the year, the Patriots have allowed Vrabel to try to figure some things out, and considering his roster, he's done a pretty good job of doing just that at 5-3 and in second place in the AFC East.
However, there's absolutely no debate that the Patriots have to improve at this year's deadline. The only question and possible problem is whether they have an opportunity to do that because of that Brown trade.
According to the latest, while the Patriots could be interested in guys like Josh Downs and Jonathan Taylor, both of the Indianapolis Colts, the bigger concern is whether they'd be willing to move on from draft assets after doing so for Brown.
“Colts wide receiver Josh Downs, one of Maye’s college teammates, has requested a trade, but the Patriots made offseason upgrades (A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs) at the position. Colts running back Jonathan Taylor could be a part of the team’s fire sale, too, but it seems unlikely that the Patriots will give up significant draft capital,” [Nicole Yang of the Boston Globe wrote](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/11/05/sports/patriots-mike-vrabel-trade-deadline-nfl-football/).
This will likely come down to whether the Patriots truly believe they have an opportunity to win a Super Bowl. Right now, it's tough to say New England is a favorite to do that, as there have been problems on both sides of the ball to start the season.
However, a lot of those problems have come from the offensive side of things, so if New England can find a way to add a couple of difference-makers, even if it's one offensive player like Downs or Taylor, it might not be the worst idea to take that chance.
### More Patriots