The New England Patriots still need to add on offense
The free agency period for the Patriots was quite slow to begin, but they did pick it up a bit and have made some strides to try and fix the offense. They made three moves along the offensive line, re-signing James Ferentz, signing Riley Reiff, and signing Calvin Anderson.
All three are backup caliber/spot starters, but nonetheless, those players are going to help shore up the OL unit which does need another quality starter at one of the tackle spots.
The team also signed James Robinson, a former 1,000 rusher who inked a two year deal with the Pats. I really love this move as I think Robinson is plenty good enough in an RB1 role, and pairing him with Rhamondre Stevenson seems like quite the one-two punch in 2023 and beyond.
Their pass catching got a slight boost as they added JuJu Smith-Schuster, formerly of the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers, and Mike Gesicki, formerly of the Miami Dolphins. I think Smith-Schuster is marginally better than Jakobi Meyers, who left for the Las Vegas Raiders, and Gesicki is surely better than Jonnu Smith.
The team does field a solid stable of pass catchers, but like last year and the year before, they have a good bit of “good players” but no true difference makers.
To me, that is still at the top of the list for the team. Perhaps swinging a trade for one of the Denver Broncos’ receivers in Jerry Jeudy or Courtland Sutton could be a move.
The team could also try to make a legitimate run at DeAndre Hopkins or Brandin Cooks.
Just think for a second if the Patriots were to land someone like Hopkins.
Their pass catchers would include Hopkins, Smith-Schuster, Kendrick Bourne, Mike Gesicki, and Hunter Henry, all while James Robinson and Rhamondre Stevenson are in the backfield.
To me, THAT is exactly what the Pats need to still do this offseason.