New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was sacked an NFL record 21 times during the postseason, six of which came during the team’s 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
Those six sacks were tied for the second-highest total in Super Bowl history, and Maye was nearly taken down for what would have been a record-tying seventh time late in the fourth quarter when he was hit hard by Seattle cornerback Devon Witherspoon while trying to release the football, which linebacker Uchenna Nwosu snagged out of the air to return for a 45-yard pick-six, all but completely squashing any hopes of a New England comeback.
The Seahawks effectively took away one of the biggest strengths of Maye’s game in his deep ball accuracy, allowing no time for receivers to get open on those longer developing routes the young signal caller had previously hit on consistently through a campaign that saw him finish second in MVP voting.
With this being such a glaring part of why the Patriots fell short in the biggest game of the season, the team’s front office would be wise to consider adding some outside reinforcements to the offensive line this spring, as their franchise signal caller was also sacked the fourth most times (47) in the league during the 2025 regular season.
New England is currently set to have the NFL’s 11th most cap space during the upcoming offseason, according to Over The Cap, and they also have options to create additional room for potentially revamping this unit.
The Patriots have to consider the future of Will Campbell while addressing the offensive line in free agency
We’ll get into potential upgrades New England must take a look at across the offensive line positions, but first it’s worth addressing how that might impact their rookie left tackle Will Campbell.
Part of why Maye faced constant pressure during the playoffs was the performance of Campbell. Across the team’s four postseason games, the fourth pick in the 2025 NFL Draft only matched or exceeded his Pro Football Focus regular season overall blocking grade of 72.6 just once.
Campbell put up a 75.6 grade in the Wild-Card Round, before his play dipped to a 45.8 grade in the Divisional Round, a 50.6 grade in the AFC Championship, and a brutal 38.2 grade in Super Bowl LX. Additionally, the 14 quarterback pressures allowed by Campbell were the most of any offensive lineman in a single game throughout the entirety of this past NFL season.
While speculation about whether the LSU product would be better suited at the guard spot has intensified after his rough postseason stretch, head coach Mike Vrabel has already asserted New England won’t be giving up so quickly on the development of a player they invested a top-five draft choice in to be the team’s blindside protector of the future just an offseason ago.
Campbell’s disappointing playoff run should be at least in part attributed to a combination of poor technique by his standards, first-year inexperience, and the torn MCL suffered in Week 12 that he never really looked the same after, all of which can certainly improve over time.
However, this should not stop the Patriots from at least exploring the free agent market to add some above-average depth to the tackle position to compete with Campbell during training camp, and also have around in case he goes down with another injury or continues to underperform.
There are a few intriguing names to consider signing this offseason
Braden Smith, T
Indianapolis Colts right tackle Braden Smith is an intriguing option for the Patriots, though the eight-year NFL veteran‘s eventual market value could ultimately price New England out of acquiring his services.
At 6’6” and 312 pounds, he allowed just one sack in 13 games played last season, the eighth-best mark among tackles league-wide, which Spotrac estimates will help net him a deal in free agency worth about $40.6 million over three years.
Paying Smith around $13.5 million annually may be too much for New England if they believe Campbell and right tackle Morgan Moses (who also allowed only one sack, but played four more games last year) would still be their starters at the tackle spots even with this possible addition.
However, potentially driving that down into a range where the Patriots might feel more comfortable about signing him are Smith’s struggles as a run blocker and his noted injury history. He’s a solid pass blocker, earning a 71.9 PFF grade in pass protection, but fared much worse in the run game with a grade of 58.0 in that department.
Meanwhile, Smith, who will turn 30 next year, has played a full slate of regular season games just once in his career, back in 2019 when the schedule was still at 16 games. Over the past three seasons alone the Auburn product missed a total of 16 contests, raising availability concerns for potential free agent suitors.
If these factors end up impacting how much teams are willing to spend on him, the Patriots should take a run at Smith, especially with Moses turning 35 next year.
Jermaine Eluemunor, T
New York Giants right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor had one of his best seasons as a pro last year, putting up a career-high 98.0 PFF pass blocking efficiency score. A former member of the Patriots from 2019-2020, he finished the campaign with a 76.7 PFF pass blocking grade, the 20th best mark among 89 eligible tackles, while allowing four sacks in 16 games.
Like Smith, though, he wasn’t a highly rated run blocker (55.1 PFF grade), but is expected to come with a much lower price tag at $17.3 million over two years. That could be a check New England is willing to pick up due to Eluemunor‘s versatility, having experience at both tackle and guard, the latter being the position he came into the NFL playing.
The Patriots may eventually, at some point next season, want to move their incumbent starter at the left guard spot, rookie Jared Wilson, to center, the position he played in college, opening a need for an experienced veteran like Eluemunor.
New England could face some competition in signing him, as new Giants head coach John Harbaugh was part of the Baltimore Ravens brain trust that originally drafted Eluemunor back in 2017 and may want to retain the 6’4”, 338-pound offensive lineman.
Wyatt Teller, G
Nicknamed the “Pancake King” due to his penchant for driving opposing defenders into the ground, Cleveland Browns right guard Wyatt Teller could be a solid addition to New England’s offensive line. Since breaking out as a full-time starter in 2020, the three-time Pro Bowler had posted above a 70.0 PFF run blocking grade in each season going into the 2025 campaign.
However, Teller’s production declined a bit last year, as he earned just a 65.7 run block grade and 62.2 overall grade from PFF, far below the Virginia Tech product’s usual standard. Standing at 6’4” and 315pounds, a calf injury limited Teller to 13 games in 2025.
He’s projected to receive a deal in the range of $30.5 million over three years, but that figure may drop with Teller coming off a down season and entering his age 32 campaign. Similar to the case with Eluemunor, the Patriots going after Teller makes a lot of sense if they intend to slide Wilson to the center spot.
Alijah Vera-Tucker, G
Despite missing all of 2025 with a torn triceps, New York Jets guard Alijah Vera-Tucker could still be one of the best players at his position when healthy, as the USC product was back in 2024. During that season, he posted the 10th-best PFF overall grade (77.7) and fifth-best pass blocking efficiency grade (98.3) among guards.
Vera-Tucker’s current market value is estimated at $51.3 million over four years, which seems a bit steep for a player with an injury history that’s kept him out of 41 total games over the past four seasons, even if the 6’5”, 308-pound offensive lineman is only 26-years old.
However, even if the bidding for Vera-Tucker’s services does wind up getting that expensive, New England still shouldn’t shy away from making him an offer. It might be a gamble given his past availability concerns, but doing so could land the team a potential impact player with experience at both guard and tackle.
Tyler Linderbaum, C
Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum was one of PFF’s highest-rated players at his position last season, earning the fourth-highest run blocking grade (83.7) and fifth-highest overall grade (80.3) among 40 qualified centers.
That’s a much better performance than what the Patriots' incumbent starter at center, Garrett Bradbury, turned in during the 2025 campaign. Bradbury posted just the 35th-best run-blocking grade (56.2) and 30th-best overall grade (80.3) at his position, though the two centers' pass-blocking stats were about the same (63.1 for Bradbury and 63.4 for Linderbaum).
Standing at 6’2” and 305 pounds, Linderbaum has missed only two games in his four-year NFL career, including the playoffs, and none over the last two seasons. The three-time Pro Bowler is expected to be the most expensive player on this list, with a projected market value of $70.9 million over four years.
While that might be a big bill to foot, it could be worth it for a player with a proven track record of success and who is currently just 25 years old.