Patriots: 3 ‘aggressive’ moves Bill Belichick could be eyeing this offseason

The New England Patriots ended up in some truly unfamiliar territory this season, as they slipped all the way to 7-9 and missed the postseason entirely. While some of that can be attested to the fact that Tom Brady left them, this roster was not very deep in several key areas, as the lack of skill position talent ultimately doomed them.

Luckily, Bill Belichick has the potential to turn them around instantly, as they are in possession of the No. 15 pick in the draft and the fourth-most cap space in the league.

The Patriots will look to splash the cash this offseason to help turn things around quickly, and these three big names could start producing on their first day in New England.

These three big offseason additions could help the New England Patriots turn things around.

How the mighty have fallen. Ertz was, at one time, challenging the likes of Travis Kelce and George Kittle for the mythical title of best tight end in football, as he made three straight Pro Bowls while setting the record for catches in a single season by a tight end. However, due to injuries, Carson Wentz’s regression, and the emergence of Dallas Goedert, Ertz’s production went into a complete tailspin; he caught just 36 passes and scored just one touchdown this past year.

He couldn’t have picked a worse time to lay an egg, as he did so right before he was scheduled to hit the open market after a brief dust-up with management. According to those in the know, he’ll likely be traded this offseason, and will be outright cut if the Eagles can’t find a match. If the Patriots want to take on another rehabilitation project, they should absolutely be in on Ertz to help improve their skill-position talent.

While the Patriots used two Day 3 picks on tight ends in UCLA’s Devin Asiasi and Virginia Tech’s Dalton Keene in 2020, neither of them should exclude the Patriots from the Ertz sweepstakes. While the tight ends were invisible last year, Josh McDaniels clearly can feature a tight end as the No. 1 option in the passing game given how dominant he helped make Rob Gronkowski. No matter who is under center, they need some reliable targets to throw to, and Ertz could help the passing game take off.

Robinson might be the single most underrated player in the NFL.

After coming into the league with the Jacksonville Jaguars, a situation that saw him saddled with quarterbacks like Blake Bortles in his formative seasons, Robinson made the trip to Chicago, where the Bears underutilized his potential by having Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles as their starting quarterbacks. Robinson, about to be a free agent after some contentious negotiations with the Bears, should eye a team with the potential to gas up his stats and win some games, a situation that he could find in New England.

While Robinson caught 200 passes over the last two years, his 7.7 career yards per target speaks to the fact that he is not being used as a vertical weapon in Chicago’s offense. In need of a field-stretcher and a physical red-zone presence, New England can kill two birds with one stone and fix their lack of depth.

Robinson might be turned off by New England if they don’t provide him with a quarterback that he believes in, but the Patriots could solve their offensive woes by upgrading over Cam Newton under center and luring a player of Robinson’s caliber. Buffalo adding Stefon Diggs shows how much impact a star receiver can have, and Robinson could end up in New England if they invest in the quarterback position.

Stafford’s name is firmly in the offseason rumor mill, as he has requested a trade from the Lions after Detroit fired offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and hired Dan Campbell as their head coach. The former No. 1 overall pick has just one Pro Bowl and no playoff wins to his name, but his cannon arm had made him one of the more reliable starters in the league, throwing for over 40,000 yards and 280 touchdown passes in his career. With Stafford playing arguably some of the best football of his career over the last two years, the Patriots should consider making a move for him.

Stafford is still in possession of one of the strongest arms in the league, and the last few seasons have shown that he is capable of eliminating the turnover and decision-making problems that plagued him early in his career. That newfound skill will play well in New England.

Stafford hasn’t had a ton of postseason success, but he’s been extremely productive and consistent with the Lions, and his lack of playoff success can easily be chalked up to the ineptitude of Detroit rather than anything of his doing. Stafford could get the Patriots back to the postseason in a very winnable division, and Belichick shouldn’t hesitate to add him to the fray.

3 quarterbacks the Patriots should try and trade for this offseason

A lot like last offseason, the Patriots are looking for a signal caller to lead their offense. What names would New England be wise to trade for?