After miraculously making a Super Bowl appearance during a season when every analyst projected them to be a non-playoff team, the Patriots went into the offseason with plenty of reasons to feel good about where they were headed.
They had a chance to build on their success in free agency, which was a highlight of their 2025 offseason, but they didn't replicate that excitement with the players they signed, mainly because it seemed they only replaced the talent they lost.
Among the most overlooked additions has been defensive lineman Dre'Mont Jones, who signed a three-year, $39.5 million contract with New England last month. He was immediately deemed K'Lavon Chaisson's replacement, but some analysts don't view him bringing the same value to the defense.
ESPN's Seth Walder is the latest to criticize Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf's decision, as he isn't high on what Jones has done in his career or what he will bring to the Patriots, and he also questions the contract the Patriots offered him.
NFL analyst criticizes the Patriots' replacement choice for K'Lavon Chaisson
He said as much in an article going over the earliest free agency signings, and it would be fair to say that Walder is no fan of Jones' arrival in New England.
"But we also have a long history of Jones' play at this point. He has failed to surpass an 11% pass rush win rate at edge in each of the past four years, meaning he was below average in the category in all of those seasons. (Prior to 2024, he was more of a hybrid player who would split his time between the interior and outside.)
And at over $13 million per year, the contract is not trivial. I think Jones is probably a slightly worse option than Chaisson, and I'll be curious to see what the latter receives on a new deal. But if I were the Patriots, I would have spent the extra money to go get Boye Mafe. Another $7-8 million per year is not a small amount, but the difference in play could be large."
With any new player, we'll have to wait and see if Jones can live up to his contract and prove the initial negative reaction wrong, as we saw plenty of with last year's free-agent class. In fact, one of those players was Chaisson, whom many considered a risky signing despite being given a one-year prove-it deal, and he went on to have the best season of his career.
There's a chance that Jones could do that too, even if he is older and hasn't had a flashy year just yet.
It's also fair to assume that the Patriots had their eyes set on Boye Mafe, whom they reportedly inquired about ahead of last season's trade deadline, but he ultimately signed a three-year, $60 million deal with the Bengals during the legal tampering period.
That means the Patriots didn't necessarily have much time to speak with him, or, if they did, they weren't willing to match the Bengals' offer, so they missed out.
Maybe that will become a mistake this season, or maybe Jones will prove to be a good move, and Vrabel and Wolf will look like geniuses, much like they did during the 2025 season.