The New England Patriots are in the fourth year of a team rebuild in the post-Tom Brady era.
Although it started well, the Patriots seem to be back to square one regarding their roster. So, let’s dive into the roster and see if New England has any untradeable players.
Kyle Dugger
Dugger has been integral to the defense since joining the Patriots as their top draft choice in 2020. He’s played in 44 games with 35 starts and has made 234 total tackles, averaging 78 tackles per season.
With Devin McCourty retiring and hanging up his cleats for good, the Patriots will need a cornerstone player to lead the defensive backs position group, and Dugger is proving to be the perfect person for that role with his production on the field.
Dugger improves every year. The Patriots should be building their defense around their versatile and dynamic safety. They cannot trade or allow him to walk away as an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
Rhamondre Stevenson
The Patriots drafted Stevenson in the fourth round in 2021, and has been a workhorse in New England ever since. He became the first running back since LeGarrette Blount in 2016 to rush for 1,000 yards in a season for the Patriots.
Stevenson turned 210 carries into 1,040 yards and five touchdowns while hauling in 69 receptions on 88 targets for 412 yards last season. In two years of work, Stevenson has accumulated 2,190 all-purpose yards.
The third-year man is poised to lead the Patriots’ backfield, resulting in the team parting ways with Damien Harris. This alone shows how invested the organization is in Stevenson, and have no plans on trading him any time soon.
Cole Strange
The Patriots shocked the NFL world when they drafted Strange in the first round of last year’s NFL Draft. Strange became the 25th Patriots rookie under Bill Belichick to be an opening-day starter.
Strange solidified his role as starting left guard for this team moving forward. He played in 984 snaps, which is 94% of the team’s total offense last year as a rookie.
In 984 snaps, he allowed only four sacks and gave up four quarterback hits in addition to three holding penalties. These marks aren’t bad for a player who logged as many snaps as he did.
Strange proved to be a franchise player as a rookie and should be the Patriots’ offensive guard for the next decade.
In all, the Patriots need to establish the next wave of core franchise pillars with McCourty and Dont’a Hightower retiring. Those three players could very well be Dugger, Stevenson, and Strange.