Josh McDaniels' track record as an offensive play-caller in his two stints with the Patriots has been relatively strong. Having the best quarterback of all time in Tom Brady certainly helped that cause, but the Patriots lacked such fireworks in the final two seasons with Cam Newton and Mac Jones under center.
While Jones' rookie season produced a playoff appearance, and COVID-19 and other factors marred Newton's lone season in 2020, McDaniels returns to Foxborough for his third stint with the Patriots, charged with revitalizing an offense that has struggled over the last two seasons.
Second-year quarterback Drake Maye could certainly benefit from McDaniels' presence, and the additions of free agent Stefon Diggs and rookies Kyle Williams and TreVeyon Henderson could mean an improved New England offense in 2025.
But McDaniels' playcalling abilities appear to be in question, at least according to Pro Football Network, which ranked McDaniels 22nd among the league's 32 playcallers.
Josh McDaniels has the ability to revitalize New England's offense
The surprising ranking that McDaniels was saddled with appears to be highly underrated, especially given his track record with the Patriots. McDaniels' schemes are complex, but he can help quarterbacks reach their full potential.
Take Jones, for example. At the end of his rookie year, McDaniels left New England to take the head coaching job with the Raiders, and Jones' numbers nosedived every year after that. Even Newton got off to a solid start in 2020 with McDaniels calling the plays, but he wasn't the same after contracting COVID-19.
McDaniels has quite the task ahead of him this season in turbocharging an offense that has finished in the bottom 10 of Pro Football Network's rankings the last two seasons. The key factors will be whether Maye can quickly grasp McDaniels' scheme and whether the new pieces on offense can come together.
If those things happen, McDaniels' positions in rankings like these will skyrocket. He knows how to get the best out of what is at his disposal and will do the same with this group of Patriots.