Free agency is always an interesting time in New England and has become even more so over the past two offseasons with Bill Belichick out of the picture. The longtime head coach and general manager was known for his seemingly unwillingness to pay up for the kind of players the team needed, which was expected not to be the case this year, as Mike Vrabel and Co. had the most cap space to utilize.
That is exactly how the new regime operated during the first week of free agency, spending more than half their available cap space on several top-name players. It was widely considered a successful start to improving the roster, with just one gripe from fans and reporters: the lack of offensive help is concerning.
Although there was more top-tier defensive talent available to sign from this free agency class, the offense was expected to be a priority, and Vrabel said as much because of Drake Maye. Ensuring the quarterback is in a better position in 2025 than he was during his rookie year is imperative, yet their actions don't match their words so far.
There is still time for that not to remain an issue, but their options continue to dwindle as each day passes. Because of that, fans have expressed their worries about the state of the Patriots' offense heading into the draft, and now analysts are as well, some of whom are sending a bit of a warning to Vrabel about their free agency moves or lack thereof.
Concerns continue to grow over the Patriots' lack of offensive additions this offseason to help Drake Maye
While discussing the first week of free agency on Colin Cowherd's podcast last week, FOX Sports' Danny Parkins was not overly thrilled with the players the Patriots signed, mainly because they were predominantly defensive guys.
He believes they're making a mistake by not prioritizing Maye the way they should be and could find themselves in big trouble if they don't add a clear number one receiver for the young quarterback to work with this fall.
"The guys they added are new but not terribly interesting. And while I love Drake Maye, I was disappointed that they didn't figure out a way to get him a number one. He has nobody to throw the ball to. ... They spent all that money on like Carlton Davis and Spillane and Milton Williams, and I'm like, 'Man, help your quarterback with a rocket arm, please.'"
To an extent, Parkins is completely right and echoes what Patriots fans have been worried about over the past week. There is certainly a lot of excitement around the names that were signed and the defense could be an explosive unit during the 2025 season, but neglecting the offense will be a big regret unless the new regime makes a big move soon.
They are not in a position to waste the time they have with a quarterback on a rookie contract and based on what they saw during his rookie year, there's no reason not to surround him with capable talent to elevate his game further, especially if they want to be competitive again sometime soon.
There are still a few offensive players worth monitoring who remain unsigned, and there is a draft coming up that could fill a lot of holes on the roster, too. But going into the draft, having a list of void starting positions is not a great spot either, and it shouldn't be something Vrabel and Co. are comfortable with.