Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots’ decision-makers had to be feeling vindicated back in October, when arguably their boldest move — signing enigmatic wide receiver Stefon Diggs to help lead a young skill position group — looked like a double-deck home run.
Diggs looked like the veteran offensive leader this roster desperately needed as he tormented his former team, the Buffalo Bills, with 10 catches on 12 targets for 146 yards back in Week 5. New England’s 23-20 win that night in Orchard Park helped springboard a 10-game winning streak, and it allowed the Patriots (and their fans) to breathe easy with a WR group led by Diggs, fellow veteran Mack Hollins, Kayson Boutte, DeMario Douglas, and rookie Kyle Williams.
Add in running back TreVeyon Henderon and tight end Hunter Henry, and the Patriots have been better than expected at the skill positions in 2025. It’s allowed second-year quarterback Drake Maye to settle in and go to work in a Josh McDaniels scheme that awards the open man over the alpha receiver.
But now deep into December, with the stakes rising with each game and the attrition of a long season finally catching up to the Patriots, the most obvious second guess of Vrabel’s first season is now impossible to ignore.
Jakobi Meyers’ instant success in Jacksonville makes Patriots’ deadline pass look worse
No Patriots fan expected the team to make a major move at this year’s trade deadline. We’re in Year 1 of the Vrabel era, and it’s important for the new regime to execute its long-range vision over these first few seasons.
Still, it would have been nice to see the Patriots do something to improve the depth of a team that sat 7-2 and at the top of the AFC standings on deadline day.
Vrabel, of course, stood pat, opting to hold onto the team’s future draft capital and trust the process. While disappointing, it made sense, since the Patriots’ locker room was vibing in ways we haven’t seen in years.
Now six weeks later, the team’s decision to pass on Jakobi Meyers — who was pleading for rescue from Las Vegas — is looking even worse than a second guess. After Meyers inked a three-year extension with the Jacksonville Jaguars this week, it looks more like a brutal mistake.
The Jaguars acquired Meyers at the deadline for a pair of Day 3 draft picks — a fourth and a sixth. He’s since helped spark a five-game winning streak for Jacksonville, which has climbed to 10-4 and is now challenging for the AFC South division title. In six games, Meyers has 27 catches for 355 yards and three touchdowns. His high football IQ and catch efficiency helped transform Liam Coen’s offense overnight.
The Patriots? They should be kicking themselves. Meyers played in the McDaniels system both in New England and Vegas. He would’ve given the team instant options, especially over the stretch of games that Boutte missed immedately after the trade deadline due to a hamstring issue. Diggs’ health is now getting called into question, after he logged a season-low 26 offensive snaps and was surprisingly absent from the game plan in Sunday’s huge rematch with Buffalo in Foxboro.
Perhaps the Patriots didn’t want to trade draft picks for a player they liked, but could potentially sign in 2026 free agency. Well, so much for that. Meyers is now off the table and making $20 million per year.
If the Patriots lose Diggs to an injury, or if he’s slowing down at the age of 32, their offense will be in trouble come playoff time. They were a play or two short in the passing game of keeping pace with Josh Allen and the Bills last week, and as it stands, Patriots fans should be feeling justified for being annoyed by their team's inaction at this year’s trade deadline.