The New England Patriots appear to be trending in the right direction after a 2-2 start to the 2025 regular season, and the good news is that some of the team’s big-name players have been right in the driver’s seat.
Quarterback Drake Maye has shown clear signs of a Year 2 jump, entering Week 5 ranked sixth in the NFL in passing yards (988), tied for eighth in touchdown passes (7), and fifth overall in passer rating (109.4).
Top free agent signings on defense, like defensive end Milton Williams and EDGE rusher Harold Landry, have already proven to be difference-makers. And the team has also gotten solid returns from its 2025 rookie class, with No. 4 overall pick Will Campbell at the forefront.
With that said, Mike Vrabel’s Patriots are far from a polished product at this point, as evidenced by their ugly losses at home to both the Las Vegas Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers. Some of the team’s expected impact players have gotten off to a slow start through four games, and New England’s going to need more from these guys to hang around in the AFC playoff hunt.
These five New England Patriots players have a ton to prove entering Week 5
RT Morgan Moses
One pleasant surprise over the first month of the regular season? The majority of the offensive line, from right guard Mike Onwenu and center Garrett Bradbury, to rookies Jared Wilson and Campbell on the left side, has held up much better than expected.
The clear outlier has been Moses, New England’s veteran free agent signing, who was supposed to be an anchor for this group on the right side.
In his 159 snaps in pass protection this season, Moses has surrendered eight QB pressures (tied for second-most on the team) and one sack, per Pro Football Focus. More concerning has been his three pre-snap penalties.
You’d expect those kinds of growing pains from a rookie like Campbell, but not from a 34-year-old vet like Moses. He had light training camp participation this summer, and he appears to be improving with each game. The Patriots will need his leadership and experience to take better shape moving forward.
RB TreVeyon Henderson
For all the hype surrounding Henderson as an early second-round draft pick, the impact has been underwhelming through the first four games.
Henderson enters Week 5 averaging just 3.7 yards per carry, with his longest play from scrimmage going for 15 yards. That feels like an anomaly, though, as the burst is clearly there for this player; the explosive plays will come.
More concerning is Henderson’s struggles in pass protection, which was billed as a strength coming out of Ohio State and throughout training camp. Per PFF, he’s been New England’s worst pass blocker, allowing three pressures on his four true pass blocking sets; he was beaten for a sack in Week 2 against the Dolphins, and has already been flagged three times.
Patriots fans had high hopes for Henderson on special teams — especially after he sent Gillette Stadium into a frenzy when he took the first kick-off of this year's preseason slate to the house for a touchdown. That hasn’t panned out either; according to PFF, Henderson has been New England’s worst special teams player.
Better days are definitely coming, but this wasn’t the start that Patriots fans were hoping for.
WR DeMario Douglas
New England’s most productive wide receiver from the past two seasons has surprisingly vanished from the game plan.
Douglas caught Maye’s first touchdown pass of the season in Week 1, but it’s been an uphill battle from there, with just five catches for 13 net receiving yards overall. Certainly, that’s not what fans expected from the starting slot receiver in Josh McDaniels’ offense.
The elephant in the room? Douglas appears to be the odd man out, with Stefon Diggs’ role in the offense expanding. Diggs has now lined up in the slot on 61 of his 141 snaps, according to PFF, which equates to 43.3 percent of the time.
With Kayshon Boutte dominating reps on the outside, and the team mixing in both Mack Hollins and Kyle Williams in certain situations, there hasn’t been much opportunity for Douglas, who played a season-low eight snaps against the Carolina Panthers last week.
New England could end up needing Douglas this year. For now, he appears poised to fill a mere depth role for this team.
LB Christian Elliss
Elliss has started all four games for the Patriots at inside linebacker so far this season, but that might not last much longer.
He leads the team with nine missed tackles, and has been a major liability in coverage. According to PFF, opposing quarterbacks are batting 1.000 when targeting Elliss, going 12-for-12 for 125 yards and a 110.1 passer rating.
New England doesn’t have a ton of depth at the position. Jahlani Tavai was designated to return from injured reserve this week, so Elliss’ role will almost certainly decline in short order.
EDGE Keion White
The Patriots’ pass rush has been much improved this season. Landry leads the team in both sacks (3.5) and total pressures (15), and Williams has helped form a disruptive pairing on the interior with Christian Barmore now back in the lineup.
One of the big surprises has been the slip in production from White, a second-round pick of the Bill Belichick regime in 2023.
You would expect the 26-year-old White to be hitting his peak in Year 3 as a pro, but that hasn’t been the case. He’s firmly behind K'Lavon Chaisson on the depth chart and has yet to make a major impact; in 48 pass rushing snaps this season, White has managed just three QB pressures, per PFF — and all of them came during Sunday’s blowout win over the Carolina Panthers.
It was a bit surprising to see White on the field for 30 snaps in New England’s preseason finale against the New York Giants back in the summer. One month in, we might be seeing why. The fit between White and Vrabel’s defensive scheme is definitely worth monitoring going forward.