Patriots Offseason Guide: Sorting through all of the information
The New England Patriots are approaching a crucial offseason. Let’s sort through all of the odds and ends for the team as they try to right the ship. New England might be one of them more aggressive teams this offseason yet again.
They have cap space to spend, draft picks to potentially trade and some holes to fill. Between the cap space and free agency, potentially making some trades and the NFL Draft in April, let’s take a deeper look into the offseason for the Pats.
Patriots Offseason Guide: Sorting through all of the information
Free Agents
The team does have a good bit of free agents, and I’ll list them all here, but spotrac.com also has the list in full
Nelson Agholor, Devin McCourty, Jonathan Jones, Jakobi Meyers, Isaiah Wynn, Cody Davis, Jabrill Peppers, Joejuan Williams, Raekwon McMillan, Carl Davis, Marcus Cannon, Joe Cardona, James Ferentz, Damien Harris, Yodny Cajuste, Quinn Nordin, Myles Bryant, Mack Wilson.
There aren’t a ton of players in this list that the team should re-sign. The biggest name to bring back is Jakobi Meyers, who is one of the top free agents this coming cycle and has been very consistent since entering the league.
Other players like Devin McCourty, Jonathan Jones, Jabrill Peppers, Joe Cardona, and perhaps Raekwon McMillan and Mack Wilson are players that should all come back for the right price, I think.
The big positive here is that outside of Meyers, the team won’t have to break the bank to retain any of their own free agents, so I think we (hopefully) see Jakobi Meyers paid, and perhaps a few of the other free agents re-signed with ease.
I would then expect the team to take to the market to sign a tackle or two and maybe bring in another free agent wide receiver as well.
The team may also look to the free agent market for some help at cornerback, but outside of those positions, I do not see the team investing significantly in any other.
According to spotrac.com, the Patriots are sitting at about $38 million in cap space, which is the fifth most in the NFL. They can free up even more space if they wanted, but given their current roster situation, I am not sure they will need to free up more.
2023 NFL Draft
According to profootballnetwork.com, these are all of the draft picks that the team has in 2023:
Round 1, Pick 14 overall
Round 2, Pick 46 overall
Round 3, Pick 76 overall (From CAR)
Round 4, Pick 107 overall (from LAR)
Round 4, Pick 117 overall
Round 4, Pick 135 overall (projected compensatory pick)
Round 6, Pick 184 overall (From CAR)
Round 6, Pick 187 overall (From LV)
Round 6, Pick 192 overall
Round 6, Pick 210 overall (projected compensatory pick)
Round 7, Pick 258 (projected compensatory pick)
If the projected compensatory picks become valid, the Patriots will have a war chest of picks to sort through and use.
They have two picks in the top 50 and three picks in the top 100.
Mock drafts are in full force, and the most common positions I see mocked to the Patriots with their top pick are offensive line, wide receiver, and cornerback. No surprise, as these are the three biggest needs the team has.
This mock draft hits on the most important positions for the Patriots.
If the team is willing to trade some of their draft picks for immediate-impact players, pay attention to the wide receiver market, as there could be a few names on the move.
My thinking as it pertains to the draft is that the Patriots end up holding on to their first round pick but end up dealing one of their picks in the top 100 for an impact player.
The first round pick is insanely valuable, and the team’s needs along the offensive line could be filled with that top pick.
Honestly, the team is in a strong position this offseason.
They have cap space, draft picks, and holes on the roster that could easily be filled this offseason.