4 new Patriots players who will be upgrades this season
As the 2023 season went on, it was clear the Patriots would need significant changes to get back on track to be a competitive team once again. The assumption was that the team would focus on fixing the roster, mainly the offense.
However, the organization had different plans in mind as they let go of Bill Belichick, hired Jerod Mayo, and brought in Eliot Wolf to be the decider on how to fix the roster.
Despite the massive shuffle behind the scenes, there was excitement in the air for what the Patriots could accomplish this offseason, especially with a lot of money to spend in free agency and a high first-round draft pick.
Free agency didn't necessarily live up to fans' expectations, but the new regime more than delivered in the draft, focusing on the offense from the time quarterback Drake Maye was selected. That reignited the excitement in New England and it provided a second look at the free agents who were signed a month prior.
Although Mayo and Wolf didn't swing for the fences and spend a ton of money the way they were expected to, they still managed to bring in players who will inevitably be upgrades at their position, which will benefit the team in the season ahead.
4 new Patriots players who will be upgrades this season
RB Antonio Gibson
The selection of Rhamondre Stevenson in the 2021 NFL Draft has ended up being one of Bill Belichick's best picks in recent history. He has become the exact running back that the team has needed, even more so once he incorporated the passing game into his repertoire.
His bully ball style and rise as a dual-threat running back earned him the starting role over Damien Harris in his second season, and he continues to be a game-changer for the Patriots' offense. it's what kept him as the RB1 despite the team signing Ezekiel Elliott last year, and he will remain there this fall.
The good thing for Stevenson is he will have a better partner in crime to work with this time around, as Elliott didn't produce in the way the Patriots had hoped last year.
Adding 25-year-old Antonio Gibson will allow the offense to open up even more and be more creative in using the running backs. Although his production with the Commanders has fallen over the last two years, he's solid on the ground and in the passing game, and he already has the right attitude to play the game in New England, which will help him be even more successful with his new team.
Gibson should easily be an upgrade over Elliott, who never seemed to fully acclimate to the Patriots' offense. Whether it was his own fault or the result of the struggling offense, he just wasn't the game-changing player we were hoping to see.
This creates a big opportunity for Gibson to prove the type of player he is, similar to how he performed in the first two years of his career, and could ultimately give the Patriots one of the top backfields in the league next season.