The Patriots go into the 2026 season with many questions about their current roster, though most of the upgrades they've made since spring are notable.
The biggest impact, of course, will be the addition of wide receivers A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, which we've already seen glimpses of during training camp. The same goes for their offensive line, which eases many lingering nerves about the offense after watching their struggles in the Super Bowl earlier this year.
But there are major concerns about the defensive line, the pass rush in particular, with Harold Landry set to miss time and K'Lavon Chaisson playing for the Commanders this season.
On top of that, those asked to step up in their absence are mostly young and unproven, so the prospect of the group improving this offseason remains uncertain.
Unfortunately, the group has heard all the doubts leading up to the Patriots' Week 1 rematch against the Seahawks, and Dre'Mont Jones, brought in to replace Chaisson, spoke about them this past week.
Dre'Mont Jones has all the confidence in the world that the Patriots' pass rush will be solid
While speaking to Patriots Wire this last week, Jones expressed immense confidence in the pass-rushing group and praised the young, talented players who will have the opportunity to make an impact this season.
"I have a lot of confidence. We got a lot of young, talented players that are ready to compete and ready to show themselves, and you got to appreciate that. We want to see how the season goes, obviously, but I think there's a lot of confidence and a lot to be positive about moving forward."
That's the kind of attitude an overlooked group needs to have after hearing everything said about them for the past several months.
At the same time, it's not entirely unwarranted to be labeled unproven, given the group includes rookies, second-year players set to have a more prominent role, and veterans who haven't had the most impressive careers in this area.
However, Jones didn't seem too worried, as he shrugged off the ongoing narratives about the Patriots' defensive line and emphasized how disrespectful it feels to hear all the negativity.
"I mean, why would we go out there and think we're not deep enough if we're the guys in that room. Saying that we're not deep enough is a way of disrespecting us and our abilities, not thinking we can get the job done. But I mean, that's all right. We got to go out there and prove it and prove that the guys in the room are here for a reason.
"We got a whole season to get better. You can't expect an empire with a couple of days."
They'll have a lot to prove once the regular season begins, and unfortunately for them, they're set to face a brutal month of opponents with the Seahawks, Steelers, Jaguars, and Bills all on the docket, three of which have scrambling quarterbacks.
Presumably, it will let us know what kind of group we'll be watching all season long, or it will be a test that lets them learn and work through the early growing pains that make it tough to watch until they finally click.
No matter what, hopefully Jones is right that they have a solid group that will shock the nonbelievers. That's what the Patriots need after a season in which their group mostly underperformed. That won't cut it this year, even if it didn't seem to take them off course to the Super Bowl last year.
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