Grading the Patriots’ offseason moves on offense so far

The New England Patriots offseason is well underway at this point and it’s an appropriate time to grade the team’s move thus far prior to the 2022 NFL Draft. The good news is there’s still time to remedy the shortcomings, but many of the impact players in free agency have already been taken off the board, so don’t expect a sense of optimism in that department.

The Patriots entered free agency with some clear needs to fill. They also had key offensive free agents who needed to be re-signed. But how the team has fared thus far in its effort to — and this is important — get better than the 2021 team that was shellacked by the Buffalo Bills twice. Have they taken the necessary steps to do so? The opposition seemingly has gotten better, so have the Patriots kept pace or have they fallen further behind on offense?

While it may be obvious to close observers, it still holds some water to take a close look at a few aspects of the offense to see if they have in fact gotten better, stayed the same, or regressed. Let’s grade each of several offensive categories and then assign an overall grade thus far to the team’s offseason activities on that front.

The categories to be explored will be quarterback, running backs, wide receivers and tight ends, and offensive line. Let’s begin with the quarterback situation.

A Patriots bright spot is at quarterback with Mac Jones

One aspect of the Patriots’ offense that needed very little tinkering in the 2022 offseason was the quarterback. Returning from a very good rookie season with a Pro Bowl appearance to boot is Mac Jones, who led the Patriots back to the playoffs after their 2020 absence. Objectively, for any rookie, that’s a massive accomplishment.

Yet, all that glitter was not gold for the young gunslinger. His play, as well as that of the entire team, fell off in the last five games, with the Patriots going 1-4 in that stretch. That’s not going to get it done when the formidable Bills are in your division. Additionally, adding Tyreek Hill to an already solid offense will make the Miami Dolphins a more formidable competitor.

Jones has to dedicate himself to a solid offseason workout regimen and emerge bigger, stronger, and faster than in his rookie campaign. The chasm between the Bills and Patriots is huge. It now looks to have gotten even wider as the Bills keep adding talent. Jones has to improve and continue to make the surrounding cast better.

Backing up Jones will again be veteran journeyman quarterback Brian Hoyer. Hoyer is more of a teacher than a player at this point of his career and an injury to Jones for any length of time would be catastrophic. Also in hand is former fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham, though he’s never done much ,and if the Patriots can get a low-round pick for him it would behoove them to do so.

Quarterback grade: B+

Running backs are a top strength of the Patriots’ offense

Continuing on the positive front, the Patriots’ running backs are a top component of their overall offense. They possess both talent and strength in depth, a critical component with the new 17-game NFL season. Injuries will happen, and having top runners waiting in the wings is required.

Leading the way are two young top backs in Damien Harris and second-year man Rhamondre Stevenson. Harris broke out in 2021 as the bell-cow back of the offense. He carried the football for 929 yards and 15 touchdowns with a 4.6 yards per rush average. Damn good numbers, and if he can stay healthy he’ll only get better.

As for Stevenson, he had a nice rookie season demonstrating not only power for a big back at about 231 pounds, but also surprising speed and elusiveness. He notched 606 yards, five TDs, and a 4.6 average per rush as well. He certainly justified the prognostication of a favorite commentator in this space, the outstanding ESPN analyst Louis Riddick.

The sky’s the limit for Stevenson and Harris. They’re an excellent one-two punch. Brandon Bolden was an all-purpose machine doing a little bit of everything for the Patriots last season, but he has moved on to the Las Vegas Raiders (Patriots West) with Josh McDaniels. This was a questionable move for the Patriots. Yet, it is what it is.

Another bright spot, however, is James White, if he’s fully recovered from the hip injury he suffered last year. White, at his best, is one of the NFL’s elite pass catchers out of the backfield. A full-strength return is a major plus for Jones and the passing game.

Also on the roster are little-used running backs J.J. Taylor, Devine Ozigbo and Malcolm Perry. These three will be fighting for a roster spot, so with the departure of Jakob Johnson as well to Las Vegas, that’s the lay of the land at the position.

Running backs grade: A-

Patriots’ wide receiver room needs a boost

The Patriots invested heavily in the wide receiver room in free agency last offseason with mixed results. They gave significant funds to Nelson Agholor and he responded with a paltry 37 catches. That one didn’t work out. Conversely, they signed Kendrick Bourne for less money and he performed quite well.

Bourne had a career-high 55 catches with five touchdowns and 800 yards. Those are solid totals for a second/third receiver on any team. Yet, leading the charge was former undrafted free agent Jakobi Meyers, who had his best year with 83 receptions and 866 yards — but only two touchdowns. Meyers’ heroics earned the restricted free agent a second-round tender this offseason, which will result in a well-deserved pay raise.

Yet, still lacking is true No. 1 receiver (or No. 2) who can stretch the field, score in the blink of an eye, put up double-digit touchdowns, and light up an opposing defense’s top defensive back. This, along with an offensive tackle, are the Patriots’ top two needs on offense. The Patriots have done little in free agency to bolster their wide receiver room.

They did add journeyman running back/wide receiver Ty Montgomery, most recently of the New Orleans Saints. This won’t excite anyone. Don’t expect much assistance there. He had a meager 16 catches for the Saints last year. The lack of a major acquisition in free agency is a downer. Not drafting a top wideout in the first two rounds would be a complete disaster.

The Patriots may still have time to add a receiver or two before camp, but the urgency requires a top draft pick either in the first or second round. NFL insider Jeff Howe thought a wide receiver was in the cards a couple weeks ago, but to no avail.

A great choice in the draft might be Alabama’s Jameson Williams or Ohio State’s Chris Olave. In the second, if they’re fortunate enough to have a talent such as Alabama’s John Metchie fall to them, it’s a no-brainer. Whatever the draft dynamic, this is a must.

Wide Receiver offseason grade to date: Incomplete, D.

Patriots’ tight end room needs a boost

The Patriots went deep in free agency last year, spending big on tight ends. They signed Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith to big contracts. Henry had a good season with 50 catches for 603 yards and nine touchdowns. Conversely, Smith was a disappointment, to put it mildly. He’s actually on the trajectory to be a bust rather than a productive contributor.

Smith caught 28 balls for 294 yards and one touchdown. Those are pedestrian statistics for a backup, let alone a top-paid option. The Patriots, thus far, wasted money on Smith. Absent a big-time rebound in 2022, depending on his contract stipulations, he’ll be out the door by 2023.

Smith’s disappointment joins that of the two 2020 third round picks in Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene. Neither has done anything in two years and they may not even make the team in 2022. The personnel operation has failed miserably in the tight end recruiting department. They need to get better with the group they have.

Tight end offseason grade to date: D

The Patriots’ offensive line has regressed

The Patriots inexcusably allowed Ted Karras, the versatile and almost indispensable starting guard/center to leave — again — in free agency. The team didn’t learn its lesson. This botched move caused all kinds of problems on an already weakened offensive line.

Further complicating things was the trade of Pro Bowl-caliber (if not named) guard Shaq Mason to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the equivalent of a bag of footballs — a lousy fifth-round pick. That’s not the proper value for what Mason brings to the field with his cost-effective salary.

Let’s stop doing business with the Bucs, shall we? They’ve already taken Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski from us.

So, with both starting guards gone, the offensive line lost 40% of their star power. These are really good players. At that point, the Patriots’ grade was going to be straight F.  That’s a complete disaster. But, just when you thought all was lost, they finally did something that made sense when they re-signed Trent Brown.

Brown is their best move of the offseason by far. It’s not even close. If they finally come to their senses and play him at the position he can add the most value to the team (left tackle), it will be an even better move. They need a strong left tackle to protect Jones’ blindside, and Brown would be better than incumbent Isaiah Wynn.

Move Brown to left tackle and Wynn to the spot vacated by Karras at left guard. Wynn is more guard-sized and is a terrific run-blocker. He’ll also be better in pass-protection on the inside.

Michael Onwenu can slot in at either right guard or right tackle, and with a draft pick tackle or guard (second-best option) in the second round (or the addition of a free agent), the starting offensive line will be set. Otherwise, things will still be in flux with the most important position group on the team.

Offensive line grade to date: C-

So that’s it, a subjective analysis here on the state of affairs of the Patriots offense at this point of the offseason. Please provide your comments on this analysis and how you’d rate the offseason thus far.

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