With the hiring of new head coach Mike Vrabel, who then went out and filled his offensive and defensive coordinator positions with candidates widely considered the best available for their jobs, the New England Patriots are on the verge of a new era. The franchise that dominated the NFL for two decades, winning six Super Bowls and nine AFC championships is coming off back-to-back, dismal 4-13 seasons and has put together only one above-.500 campaign since the departure of legendary quarterback Tom Brady following the 2019 season.
But all of that is about to change. Or so Patriots fans hope, with former New England Super Bowl linebacker Mike Vrabel at the helm, Josh McDaniels back for his third go-round at offensive coordinator and former Detroit Lions defensive line coach Terrell Williams as the new defensive coordinator.
Now, all the team needs is players.
Patriots Must Make Deals to Add Talent to Thin Roster
The Patriots have been thin on roster talent for several years now, going back to the late Brady era. In 2018, the last season in which the Patriots won a Super Bowl, only Brady and cornerback Stephon Gilmore were selected for Pro Bowl berths off of the New England squad.
With the emergence of cornerback Christian Gonzalez, drafted in 2023 17th overall by the Patriots, and quarterback Drake Maye who was taken third overall last year, the Patriots have two bright spots, but it clearly was not enough to make the team competitive. What should New England do for its next move as it attempts to get on a path back to NFL relevance?
According to Patriots beat writer Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald newspaper, the first fix is clear â get a quality receiver for Maye to target reliably. In 2024, the Patriots ranked dead last in passing offense with 2,995 yards in the air. The team’s 18 passing touchdowns was the second-fewest in the league. The Patriots’ leading receiver was tight end Hunter Henry with 674 yards all season.
Demario “Pop” Douglas led the team’s wide receivers with 621 yards. By contrast, league leader Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals hauled in 1,708 yards.
Eagles Receiver A.J. Brown Played for Vrabel in Tennessee
Kyed proposes that the Patriots target Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown. Brown signed a contract extension last April totaling $92 million over three seasons. His cap hit in 2025 will be just over $17.5 million. But that should not be an issue for New England who lead the NFL in free cap space heading into the 2025 offseason, with an estimated $126.13 million.
Why would the Eagles part with their 2024 second-team All-Pro receiver who caught seven touchdowns and 51 first downs in 97 targets this season?
“For the second straight year, the Eaglesâ offense ranked seventh in points and eight in total yards, but thanks to the acquisition of running back Saquon Barkley, they completely changed the formula of how they were scoring and moving down the field,” Kyed explained. “In 2023, they ranked 21st in passing attempts and 16th in passing yards. This season, they were 32nd in passing attempts and 29th in yards.”
In other words, Brown has become expendable under the Eagles’ new offensive scheme. According to Kyed, the 27-year-old Brown â who was drafted in the second round by Vrabel when he was head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2019 â could be acquired by the Patriots without giving up their No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 draft.
“The No. 4 overall pick would be too steep to acquire Brown, but a future first or multiple Day 2 picks could get the deal done,” he wrote on Thursday.
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