Grading the Patriots offensive groups after roster cuts

The 2024 offseason is now officially in the books. Rosters were cut down to the mandatory 53, but as soon as they were, moves were underway. As of this writing, the Patriots have already signed four players and released four in that exercise.

Expect more of the same. For years, the Patriots have been bottom-feeders on the waiver wire, and this year is no exception, a new management team notwithstanding.

Eliot Wolf and company will be scrambling to try to right a listing ship in a sea of improving and far better AFC East teams.

Unfortunately, after an offseason that, overall, would rate a D here, the prognosis is poor. Don't expect too much, and you won't be disappointed.

Regardless, we'll assess the offensive groupings and see how they rate individually. Usually, the whole equals the sum of the parts, and the Patriots will not likely deviate from that rule. But let's look at what they have and assign grades to each unit anyway.

Grading the Patriots' offensive skill units

The hypothesis often stated here is that winning teams are built in the off-season. The team then usually just plays out the cards it has dealt itself. It isn't rocket science, just logic. While there are always exceptions (e.g., the 2001 NE Patriots), as the old saying goes, "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ears." Most likely, you'll be what you should be.

The quarterback unit will be superb if one thing happens: Drake Maye, who won the job in pre-season, starts every game he can. He's the Patriots' best and deserves to play, overspending on journeyman backup Jacoby Brissett notwithstanding. That money is history; there is no sense in making it hurt any more than it does.

Maye's play in the pre-season alone, after being drafted with the third-overall pick, merits a Patriots' A grade for the unit. Brissett, though way overpaid, is a perfectly acceptable backup. Rookie Joe Milton III is just fine as the third QB.

Running back will grade a B. Rhamondre Stevenson is a top back when healthy. Additionally, Antonio Gibson is a decent runner and a fine receiver from the backfield. Ja'Mychal Hasty beat out third-year back Kevin Harris. Both are back-of-the-roster types.

The wide receiver position is filled with questions. Demario Douglas is the best of the group, but he can get injured. Kendrick Bourne is coming off a severe knee injury. The rest of the group are all question marks.

Tyquan Thornton is a half-season away from second-round flop territory, and no one knows what second-year-man Kayshon Boutte will do. Two rookie receivers, Ja'Lynn Polk, who could shine, and Javon Baker, have never played an NFL down. It all adds up to a grade of C.

Grading the Patriots' guys on the offensive line of scrimmage

The tight-end room is decent. Two veterans, both 29-year olds, Hunter Henry and Austin Cooper, have both had their moments in the NFL. Each is solid, with Henry having the edge. The Pats also added an H-back type in the draft, Jaheim Bell. He's a wild card here. If he does what he might, the grade of B here may be too low.

Now to the offensive line. Here's where things get dicey for the 2024 New England Patriots. Eliot Wolf, the Exec, VP of Player Personnel, rolled the dice on two right tackles as his presumptive choices at left tackle. It was a losing strategy and Wolf's biggest gaffe of the offseason. It's a potential season-crusher.

Neither free agent signing Chuks Okorafor nor Caedan Wallace, the Pats' third-round pick, can play the position. Vederian Lowe, who beat out both on the left side, is now injured, though he's a waiver-wire-level player himself. Wolf will be scrambling to try to patch an un-patchable hole. Mike Onwenu is fine at right tackle if he plays there, but regardless, the tackle grade is a weak D.

The guard situation is just as poor. Wasted high or mid-round picks have mostly flopped, from first-rounder Cole Strange, now injured, to Atonio Mafi, a fifth-rounder who was waived. Sidy Sow is OK, but he's now injured.

Onwenu, paid as a tackle and slated to play right tackle, may be slotted back in at right guard. Fourth-round pick Layden Robinson hasn't shown much, and there's no one else around. It's a disaster in the making, and the grade here can only be another D.

The center position has a standout, David Andrews, Yet Andrews isn't getting any younger and has lots of miles on him. Nevertheless, he's their best by a country mile, the O-line's Rock of Gibraltar, and elevates the position. If he gets hurt, though, it will be calamitous. Nick Leverett is the backup. He won't remind anyone of Jim Otto. (Google him; he was a great center back then.) The grade is a very weak B, and only because of Andrews.

Those are the grades for the Patriots' offensive positional units. Overall, it's not a picture worthy of the Louvre Museum. The offensive line is a train wreck, and the responsibility lies squarely on Eliot Wolf's shoulders. Not having a top left tackle is his most egregious blunder of the off-season. Not having any at all borders on NFL personnel negligence.

The Patriots, absent a miraculous rookie season by precocious young quarterback Drake Maye (if he plays), are headed for the AFC East basement again. If you fail to bring in any left tackles when you have none and then trade your best player, you've essentially thrown in the towel on the 2024 season before it starts. The view here is that it's no way to run an NFL football team, and it stinks.

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