3 most urgent positions for the New England Patriots to fix in the future

2. Wide receiver

The New England Patriots took Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas in the 2023 NFL Draft. Both are intriguing wide receivers who could each have a nice role with the team in the future. However, there is no guarantee that either player develops, and being that both were late round picks, that lessens their chances.

The Pats let Jakobi Meyers walk in free agency and signed JuJu Smith-Schuster to replace him, but there are concerns about his knee. Kendrick Bourne, DeVante Parker, and Tyquan Thornton are also a part of this unit. Outside of Thornton, I don't think Bourne or Parker are going to here for the long-term, and neither are true WR1 type of players.

The Patriots need to find that guy at wide receiver. Whether they'd consider pursuing a trade for someone like Tee Higgins or looking towards the draft, something has to be done.

3. Quarterback

Well, it's a question until it's not. Mac Jones has played and started in 32 games during his NFL career. He has a 16-16 record with 7,114 yards, 39 touchdowns, 25 interceptions, and a passer rating of 89.1 He is on his third offensive coordinator and does have an impressive 10-7 season under his belt.

However, Jones has not slammed the door on this QB situation that the Patriots have, and his third year is going to be the crucial one. My issue with Mac Jones is that I think his ceiling is Kirk Cousins. Yeah, Cousins has been efficient during his career, but that's about it. He wins about 50% of the time and doesn't have much else to offer.

He can stabilize a franchise with competent QB play but is not going to lead a team past the first round of the playoffs. Is that someone that the Patriots would want to rely on? Because I think that's the best-case scenario with Jones. The New England Patriots might be best suited trying to pursue a trade for a better signal caller next offseason (Kyler Murray) or even looking to the 2024 NFL Draft.