3 people under the most pressure within the Patriots' organization in 2023

2. Bill O'Brien, OC

Even though Bill O'Brien returns to the Patriots after more than a decade and is in his "new" first year with the team, I think he's under a ton of pressure in 2023. The New England Patriots will likely again feature a top-10 defense. They added Keion White and Christian Gonzalez to the unit in the 2023 NFL Draft. Both are encouraging young players who should make some noise in their rookie seasons.

Right now, I don't really think the defense has a weak spot, and Bill Belichick has typically always fielded top defenses. The pressure lies mostly on the offensive side of the ball. The unit took a bit hit going from Josh McDaniels to Matt Patricia in 2022. The offense was top 10 in 2021 and was among the worst in the NFL in 2022. O'Brien, who has a solid track record on offense, is tasked with taking this talent-deprived unit and shaping it back to one that can simply score points effectively.

3. Mac Jones, QB

This one is obvious. Mac Jones, the third-year QB is under a ton of pressure in 2023. He had a very encouraging rookie season, earning a lot of trust with the organization and the fanbase, but he fell flat on his face in 2022. Some may say that the performance in 2022 was not the fault of Jones, and I see where they'd be coming from. The truth is, though, is that no matter what happened in 2022, Mac Jones needs to show up in 2023.

He should have more effective coaching to work with. His pass-catching stable seems a bit more improved with additions of Mike Gesicki and JuJu Smith-Schuster, and the late addition of RB Ezekiel Elliott could end up being something.

If Mac Jones does not play well enough in 2023, he'll be out of a job as the starting QB of the New England Patriots.