If the New England Patriots learned anything during their whirlwind 2025 season, it’s that they have a rare, MVP-level asset in 23-year-old quarterback Drake Maye.
Building around that asset is the team’s main priority going forward, starting with this year’s truncated offseason coming off an appearance in Super Bowl LX.
We’re already closing in on the NFL’s legal tampering window for free agents, which arrives on March 9. No one’s expecting another offseason spending spree like last year, but head coach Mike Vrabel should be seeking help for his quarterback, and tight end should be high on his list.
Hunter Henry enjoyed one of his best statistical seasons in 2025, but his production tailed off like Maye’s during the playoffs. Austin Hooper, meanwhile, was an afterthought in the offense despite logging over 500 offensive snaps during the regular season.
The Patriots need to get younger, meaner, and more athletic at the tight end position, and replacing Hooper this offseason feels like the obvious place to start. New England struggled both in short-yardage rushing situations and in protection on obvious passing downs, and pairing a more prototypical blocking TE with Henry would help in both areas.
One of the more intriguing names set to hit the market is David Njoku, the do-it-all tight end of the Cleveland Browns. He recently announced on Instagram that he’ll be leaving his team of nine years in free agency this March, and it didn’t take long for speculation to swirl around him landing with the Patriots.
Mike Vrabel got an up-close look at Njoku during his 2024 season with Cleveland
There’s a clear connection here, as Vrabel spent the 2024 regular season on Kevin Stefanski’s staff with the Browns, working as a coaching and personnel consultant. He did the majority of his hands-on coaching with Cleveland’s offensive linemen, and by extension got an up-close look at Njoku.
Among tight ends who played more than 400 snaps that year, only one player scored a higher pass-blocking grade than Njoku, and that was Tyler Conklin, per Pro Football Focus. He’s a bigger tight end at 6-foot-4, 246 pounds, but there’s plenty of creativity in his game. Stefanski used him anywhere from a traditional inline tight end to a slot receiver and even out of the backfield.
He had an 800-yard, six-touchdown season as the Browns TE1 in 2023, while also more than holding his own in pass protection. His ability to help chip on the edge alone would be a major upgrade over what the Patriots got from Henry and Hooper during their 2025 run.
Pro Football Network’s Jacob Westendorf believes both Vrabel and Njoku could have mutual interest.
“Njoku could potentially thrive in a secondary pass-catching role in Josh McDaniels’ offense, which has featured two-tight-end sets dating back to the days of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez working the middle of the field for Tom Brady’s Patriots.”
The clear concern here would be Njoku’s age (he turns 30 this summer) and how much gas he has left in the tank. He played 515 snaps last season, his fewest since 2020, and lost the top pass-catching role to rookie Harold Fannin Jr. in 2025 during an injury-riddled season.
This one could come down to the market, as it’s hard to see the Patriots bending over backwards to sign an aging veteran at over $10 million per year, which is what Spotrac is projecting for Njoku this March.
Targeting a younger free agent like Chig Okonkwo, who was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in 2022 during Vrabel’s tenure there, feels like the more prudent play for a team that’ll be looking to sharpen the edges of the 53-man roster, rather than potentially overpaying for a veteran who may be past his prime.
Njoku could definitely land with New England if his market leads him toward a one-year, prove-it deal. Otherwise, the Patriots would be wise to seek younger alternatives, especially ones who can step in immediately and help with their blocking and protection issues up front.