3 reasons why the Patriots are already doomed in the 2023 NFL season

The New England Patriots could quickly get drowned out in a stacked AFC that has a ton of playoff-caliber teams. Let's outline why that may be the case. If I am wrong, I'll happily admit that. However, I do not see this team being very competitive in the 2023 NFL season.

The AFC has gotten even better than it was last year, and while the New England Patriots also got better, I don't think they got better enough to be a true contender. I think they'll hover around the .500 mark for most of the season and will gradually fall out of the playoff race.

I do think the team needs more things to go right to succeed than other contenders. The defense may have to reach truly elite status in 2023 and the offense has to take a huge leap forward. Anything less and the Patriots are going to be on the outside looking in for 2023.

Let's dive into three reasons why the Patriots are already doomed in the 2023 NFL season.

3 reasons why the Patriots are already doomed in the 2023 NFL season

1. The offense doesn't have any elite skill players on offense

This is going to hamper their ability to consistently put up points in 2023. While they may have one of the deepest stable of offensive skill players in the NFL, no one really sticks out. I do have high hopes for Rhamondre Stevenson in 2023, but he still has to prove that he can handle a loaded plate.

The wide receivers are average at best. Maybe DeVante Parker or JuJu Smith-Schuster hit their peaks again, as both have been 1,000 yard receivers in this league. Perhaps the tight end duo of Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki end up being better than we think.

At the end of the day, we just don't know for sure yet, but there really is no one on the offense that is going to worry opposing defenses. Let's contrast that with other teams in the AFC:

The Bills have Stefon Diggs, the Jets have Garrett Wilson, the Dolphins have Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, the Bengals have Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase, etc. The Patriots have... JuJu Smith-Schuster? Kendrick Bourne? DeVante Parker? Tyquan Thornton? Eh.