3 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

3. The offensive line isn't as settled as we'd like it to be

Unless you're an elite passer, not having a strong offensive line is going to hurt a team significantly. Well, what the heck are the New England Patriots going to do at the tackle spots? Trent Brown appears to be the starter at left tackle, but he played that position quite poorly in 2022.

He also had a car delivered to the stadium recently, which indicates to me that his priorities are not in the right spot ahead of the season. Free agent addition Riley Reiff is fine and has played both tackle spots, but his well into his 30s and is likely nothing more than a high-end backup player who may be the primary starter at right tackle for the team.

And while Cole Strange is probably going to play well in 2023, there is no indication he'll develop as of yet. The New England Patriots could have as many as three positions along the offensive line that have question marks heading into the season. This could be a huge problem for Mac Jones, who I think needs just about everything to go right to succeed.

The last QB who was able to do something of note with a poor offensive line was Joe Burrow back in 2021, but we're talking about Joe Burrow, who is the second-best QB in the NFL. Mac Jones is no Joe Burrow, unfortunately. The hope is that the offense that Bill O'Brien plans on installing helps elevate the play of the offensive line, which was a poor unit in 2022.