For much of the offseason, despite representing the AFC in the Super Bowl, the Patriots haven't received much optimism about what they can accomplish in 2026. A lot of it boils down to the fact that they're facing a much more difficult schedule than they did just one year ago, but at the same time, they weren't projected to win much during the 2025 season either.
So do their predictions hold that much weight? Not really.
That makes for the limited analysts who believe they could accomplish far more than most are suggesting that much more interesting, especially when one of the latest voices to express belief in the Patriots, particularly since acquiring A.J. Brown, is the absolute last person any diehard New England fan would expect: former Ravens and Jets linebacker turned NFL analyst Bart Scott.
Since joining the media over a decade ago, Scott hasn't hidden his disdain for the Patriots whatsoever and has earned the label of being perhaps their biggest hater, which says a lot considering just how much negativity there is toward the team from analysts.
That makes hearing his support for the Patriots ahead of the 2026 season that much more shocking, and hopefully it's some sort of reverse-psychology thing he's trying out, and he indeed believes what he's saying.
The Patriots should probably be receiving more Super Bowl hype now that they have A.J. Brown
Scott hyped Mike Vrabel's team, saying the roster is much better now that Brown is part of it, during a recent appearance on ESPN's "Get Up." So much so that he believes the receiver makes them the team to beat in the AFC.
Yes, you read that right. And yes, Bart Scott is the one who said it.
“I think he does [make them the team to beat in the AFC]. When you talk about what happened in the Super Bowl, they were able to take away their receivers because they didn't have a true No. 1 receiver that can separate and win the 50-50 ball.
When you think about A.J. Brown, his frustration was that Jalen Hurts would not put the ball at risk. He wouldn't give him the opportunities to make the contested catch. I think you talk about Drake Maye, how successful he was in throwing the ball 20 yards or more. I think he led the league. I think you know he'll put that ball up for AJ Brown. He'll make those catches more times than not.”
The biggest part that has seemingly been overlooked by most other analysts, ironically, other than Scott to this point, is the part about the change at quarterback and how that could immediately alter Brown's production in Year 1 with the Patriots.
There's a reason he allegedly became frustrated with Jalen Hurts during his time with the Eagles, particularly during the 2025 season, and as Scott points out, it seemingly had a lot to do with the quarterback's hesitancy to make big plays.
Brown is known as a downfield threat, but we didn't see much of that last season due to Hurts' reluctance. That's not something we'll see with Maye, as we already saw during minicamp and OTAs, and that will be a major factor in how Brown progresses as his top weapon.
That alone should prompt analysts and fans to believe the Patriots have a higher ceiling than they did at the start of the offseason, yet they're still being massively overlooked and dismissed ahead of the upcoming season.
Fortunately, that's something the Patriots have historically thrived on, and this only becomes another motivating factor that they can use as fuel throughout the season, essentially continuing the "Warriors, come out and play!" that became synonymous with the team throughout the playoffs last year.
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