2026-2027 New England Patriots Season Preview

What better way to kick off the eve of the NFL season than with a preview of the teams playing tonight? For those who missed it, last week I broke down the upcoming season for the defending champion Seattle Seahawks with former Seahawks DB Paul Moyer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thz_xtnhu2I&t=1s), and today, I want to talk about their opening night opponent, the Super Bowl runner-up New England Patriots.

Coaching Staff

• Mike Vrabel returns for another year at the helm after leading a drastic team turnaround for the Patriots last year, taking them from worst to first in their division, 4-13 to 14-3. Yes, he has been through a tumultuous off-season due to non-football reasons, but for the purpose of this article, football is the focus, and it seems as though the team's unwavering loyalty to him has held strong as he continues building a strong culture in New England.

• Josh McDaniels returns as the OC, a sentence Patriots fans have become familiar with over the last decade. McDaniels has some work to do, as the playoffs exposed some of the offensive weaknesses with this team, and it felt as though McDaniels was unwilling to "unhook the trailer" so to speak in the biggest moments, perhaps feeling ambivalent about their receiving weapons. One thing is for sure, those excuses do not exist this season. They have brought in multiple pass-catching weapons, and have made moves on the offensive line, McDaniels has to let loose with this team this year or he'll end up on the hot seat.

• Zak Kuhr enters his first official season as Patriots DC, although he ran the defense for a large portion of the season last year. He runs a defense that lacks some depth, but the starters have the potential to perform like a high-level defense with top-level players in valuable positions. They were 11th in EPA allowed per play last season, but did so against a favorable schedule. This season they will have to perform just as well if not better, and do so against better competition.

Offseason Additions/Losses

Key Additions:

• WR AJ Brown

• WR Romeo Doubs

• G Alijah Vera-Tucker

• DE/OLB Dre'Mont Jones

• S Kevin Byard

• FB Reggie Gilliam

Key Losses:

• WR Stefon Diggs

• WR Kayshon Boutte

• C Garrett Brabury

• TE Austin Hooper

There was a clear emphasis on overhauling the WR room this summer, with the headlining moves of course being the AJ Brown trade and Romeo Doubs signing, while letting Diggs walk and trading Boutte to the Texans. The addition of Vera-Tucker answers some interior offensive line questions, but they may soon come back if he cannot stay healthy, a challenge that has unfortunately eluded him in past seasons.

Depth Chart Strengths

• WR1: AJ Brown replacing Stefon Diggs (although Diggs was not playing much on the outside to begin with) is a huge upgrade, especially now that there is someone to stretch the field who ALSO has the ability to consistently make contested catches, and with Kyle Williams backing him up after gaining valuable experience last year, I would not have any concerns about this spot. This can also open up the run game and the intermediate middle-of-the-field pass if Brown can cause concerns in the deep parts of the secondary and force a double-team or two.

• RT: Morgan Moses is coming off of a strong season, and yes, there are concerns about his age, but the selection of Caleb Lomu in the draft was encouraging and shows that they are thinking about the future. Lomu should learn well from Moses, and should he have to step up into the role this season for any reason, I have confidence he will perform better than an average backup.

• CB1: Is it lazy to use Christian Gonzalez as the only rationale for this? It could be, but he is that good. I felt that way when he was coming out of Oregon, and he has done nothing to show me he is not capable of being the best CB in the NFL; it's already difficult to say he isn't top 3 in his position. Because of this, and because of the importance of the position and the weapons he is slated to face this season, he IS worthy of being the main reason why I am confident in the Patriots DB room this season, and a DPOY campaign isn't out of the question.

Depth Chart Weaknesses

• RB: Another obvious one, but it does bear repeating given that the Patriots decided to remain with their RB tandem despite the run game struggling in multiple big moments last year, along with some ball security issues. Rhamondre Stevenson is a better RB than people give him credit for, but he is not a back that has any real assets to provide to the team that they wouldn't be able to find in your average RB. He is a decent enough blocker, and can provide value on the goal line, but he struggles with his burst and breakaway speed, and the ball security issue played a big role in his benching at several points last season. Treyveyon Henderson was drafted highly last season, but his lack of passing-down value, as well as his lack of blocking abilities and his current health struggles aren't inspiring things to see before week 1 kicks off.

• ROLB/EDGE: There is not a ton to say here, besides the fact that the Patriots are putting a large amount of trust in Elijah Ponder, who is not a terrible player, but I would not label him as "above league average". The only other person on the depth chart in that position with him is 7th-round rookie Quintayvious Hutchins. Whether they have a lot of belief in Ponder, or Hutchins, or both, I do not share that faith and see this position being a problem in both the run and pass game, and one that will be targeted.

Formula Predicted Record

11-6

Summary

The Patriots had an eventful off-season, no matter which perspective you look at it from. One thing to be sure of is that a Super Bowl runner-up who brought back their HC, OC and DC, and brought in new weapons to re-tool their offense is not a team to take lightly. While their schedule may be more difficult this year, facing the AFC West and the NFC North, I have confidence in this team to perform up to their new standard as Drake Maye continues to stride towards being the franchise QB the organization and fanbase believe him to be, AJ Brown (hopefully) gets the WR1 targets in a passing offense like he's always wanted, and the defense hums under a HC with defensive strengths like Vrabel. Look for this team to be competing for the division title with the Bills until the final weeks of the season, and to see them playing meaningful football in January.