New England managed to climb back to the top of the AFC during Mike Vrabel's first season as head coach, as an MVP-level performance from Drake Maye helped produce countless highlights and the best overall point differential in the conference.

• 2025: 14-3 (+170 point differential, preseason win total: 8.5)
• Points per game: 28.8 (second)
• EPA per pass: +0.31 (first)
• EPA per rush: -0.09 (25th)
• Points per game against: 18.8 (fourth)
• EPA per pass against: -0.02 (10th)
• EPA per rush against: -0.08 (16th)

Obvious success aside, New England certainly benefited from a soft schedule, and the team's mostly good-not-great ranks in everything other than passing offense reflect the reality that this isn't exactly a juggernaut roster just yet. Good news: The Patriots have the ninth-most effective cap space to work with this offseason on top of a whopping 11 total draft picks to help build off a 2025 campaign that exceeded everyone's expectations.

What Do The New England Patriots Have To Address Ahead Of 2026?

Need 1: Wide Receiver

Stefon Diggs still proved to be capable of functioning as a legit No. 1 WR on his way to racking up 1,013 yards on an average of 9.9 yards per target—his best mark since 2019. Still, Diggs will be 33 next November, is facing some legal issues and has a contract that New England could get out of fairly easily if they desire.

The likes of Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Mack Hollins each had their moments in 2025, but New England has the cap space and draft capital to potentially make a serious move here for a legit stud. A reunion between Mike Vrabel and old friend A.J. Brown sure is provocative, while George Pickens (will he accept a franchise tag?) and Brandon Aiyuk (has he played his last snap in San Francisco?) could also feasibly be available in the trade streets.

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Need 2: Safety

The Patriots boast the NFL's sixth-most expensive cornerback room and are more than set with Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones and Carlton Davis forming a formidable starting trio. However, this is presently the NFL's seventh-cheapest safety room in terms of 2026 dollars, with starter Jaylinn Hawkins set to hit free agency.

Perhaps the Patriots will simply splurge to bring back PFF's fifth-highest graded safety of 2025—Hawkins picked off a career-high four passes and generally thrived as defensive coordinator Terrell Williams' last line of defense last season.

If not, help will be needed in a secondary inside a room that was forced to heavily rely on rookie fourth-rounder Craig Woodson after somewhat surprisingly parting ways with former team captain Jabrill Peppers last August.

Need 3: EDGE

Starting EDGE K'Lavon Chaisson is hitting free agency after racking up a career-high 7.5 sacks, meaning the Pats might have to find a new sidekick for 43.5-million-dollar man, Harold Landry. Note that Chaisson was the only Patriots EDGE to post a pass rush win rate inside the position's top-80 players last season.

The front office has used just one top-100 pick on the defensive line in their last four drafts combined, so adding bodies to a group that racked up the league's seventh-fewest sacks despite blitzing at the league's 12th-highest clip is encouraged, even if higher-end draft resources are devoted elsewhere.

Honorable Mention

The Patriots' previously much-maligned offensive line wound up finishing 2025 ranked as PFF's fifth- and 16th-best unit in pass- and run-blocking, respectively. Not too shabby, although continuing to prioritize keeping Drake Maye clean makes sense. At a minimum, the front office should look to add some youthful depth with starting RT Morgan Moses (35 in March) and C Garrett Bradbury (31 in June) not exactly being spring chickens these days.

If I Were The GM …

I'd be calling Howie Roseman to see just how the Eagles are feeling about A.J. Brown these days. While Brown will be 29 in June, his alpha-level marks in yards per (2.06) and targets (25.2%) per route run reflect the reality that we're still looking at the sort of talent capable of completely changing the way defenses are forced to approach an offense. Don't expect the Eagles to give up Brown for anything less than multiple early-round picks—and maybe they won't at all—but you could imagine what it'd be like if they did!

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