The New England Patriots have hit the reset button this offseason, parting ways with long-time head coach/general manager Bill Belichick and installing Jerod Mayo as the new head coach and Eliot Wolf as the front office’s primary decision maker.
Not only that, but the Patriots also pulled the plug on the Mac Jones experiment (which was a long time coming) and selected Drake Maye with the third overall pick of the NFL Draft.
Needless to say, Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine is not in love with what New England has done at the start of its new era.
Ballentine isn’t sure that promoting two in-house candidates in Mayo and Wolf was the best idea, and he also thinks the Pats have set Maye up for failure early on by not supplying him with adequate weapons.
Has it really been that bad for the Patriots?
In the Patriots’ defense, the cupboard was pretty bare for them heading into the offseason.
Yes, New England had a good defense in 2023, but it severely lacked in pretty much every other category. The Pats had probably the worst receiving corps in football, their running game was subpar and their offensive line was putrid, to say the least.
So, the Patriots couldn’t possibly patch all of those holes in one offseason.
They did select a couple of interesting wide receiver prospects in the NFL Draft, picking up Ja’Lynn Polk (who could be a big-time sleeper in 2024) and Javon Baker. They wanted to sign Calvin Ridley in free agency, but had to settle for K.J. Osborn, who is a decent auxiliary option.
No, New England doesn’t exactly have the Houston Texans’ weapons, but the Pats have at least attempted to improve at wide out over the last several months.
The offensive line is still a major issue, and while the Patriots signed running back Rhamondre Stevenson to an extension, they didn’t do a whole lot to improve the rushing attack (Antonio Gibson is a so-so signing).
What does need to be said is that there stands a great chance that Maye won’t even take the field this season. New England reunited with Jacoby Brissett back in March, and as of right now, it’s looking like he will be the starting quarterback in Week 1.
Perhaps the Pats would prefer Maye to sit back and watch for a year rather than throw him to the wolves right out of the gate, which seems like a wise decision.
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