The New England Patriots are a far different team now than they were at the end of 2024. In a matter of two offseasons, Mike Vrabel has given the team a near-complete overhaul, breathing new life into a team that went 4-13 in back-to-back seasons.
After a fantastic 2025 season saw them fall just short in the Super Bowl, the team has made further improvements ahead of 2026. A.J. Brown was the marquee addition, but Romeo Doubs, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Dre'Mont Jones, and Kevin Byard are also set to play important roles in their first seasons with the team.
Although the 2027 offseason remains a long way away, Eliot Wolf and the front office are likely already beginning advanced preparations, preparing for another season of NFL and college scouting.
While adding college stars is an exciting prospect, the team will continue to add NFL-proven talent to their roster to tighten their grip on the AFC East. In a recent Bleacher Report article by Moe Moton highlighting a handful of 2027 free agents poised for a potential breakout season in 2026, one player stands out as a potential fit in New England.
Moro Ojomo checks all the boxes for Mike Vrabel
As of now, fans outside the NFC East may not be all that familiar with Moro Ojomo. A seventh-round pick from Texas in 2023, he logged six sacks last season while playing 66% of snaps for the Eagles. He recorded just 30 tackles and one sack in his first two seasons with the Eagles (29 regular and postseason games) before stepping into a larger role following the departure of Milton Williams ahead of last season.
Ojomo has a similar profile to Williams. Both stand at 6-foot-3 and are within two pounds of one another. He wasn't quite the athlete Williams was coming out of college, but he recorded more sacks last season (6) than Williams ever has.
Ojomo will be hoping to stack strong seasons together in 2026. While the Eagles would likely love to see him stick around, they have elite talent on the defensive line already. Both Williams (third round) and Ojomo (seventh round) are examples of that pipeline.. They added to the position during the 2025 draft as well, selecting Ty Robinson of Nebraska in the fourth round.
It's far from a given that Ojomo hits free agency, but if he were to, he matches the profile of a player Vrabel likes: an athletic defensive tackle with pass-rushing success. He'd be the third big-ticket Eagle the Patriots could potentially bring in after Williams and Brown.
The Patriots could reshape their defensive line again in 2027
Admittedly, the defensive line isn't much of a need for the Patriots. With Williams, Christian Barmore, Cory Durden, and strong depth, the team doesn't have an obvious need at the position.
Nonetheless, they could opt to reshuffle the deck. Vrabel inherited Barmore and his $84 million contract from Jerod Mayo's regime. At the end of this season, the Patriots could release him and save $16.4 million of his $23.6 million cap hit (pre-June 1 release).
Ojomo would be a younger option and a superior run defender. The current Eagle ranked 61st in PFF's run defense grade metric, while Barmore, a notoriously poor run defender, ranked 206th out of 224 defensive tackles.
An Ojomo signing would be far in the future, but don't be surprised if the 24-year-old is one of the top free agents come the spring.
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