The New England Patriots are hoping to put together a strong follow-up campaign to their wildly successful 2021 season. So far, it has made for some great football throughout training camp and preseason play. There has been a lot of competition, and it could result in some tough Patriots roster cuts.

As the Patriots roll into the 2022 season, they are hoping to build as strong a team around their second-year quarterback Mac Jones as they can. Jones had an unexpectedly solid rookie season that helped lead New England to the playoffs, but with all the competition in the AFC now, doing so for the second straight season is going to be easier said than done.

That's why it's so important for the Pats to do what it takes to build their roster correctly, and that could include making some tough roster cuts that many folks wouldn't have expected to be made. Let's take a look at three players who could end up being Patriots cuts before Week 1 of the season.

3. Devin Asiasi

Devin Asiasi's career with the Patriots hasn't exactly gotten off on the right foot. Throughout his first two seasons with the team, he has only managed to haul in two total passes. He got boxed out of the lineup last year with the additions of Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, but he wasn't exactly making the choice difficult for his coaches. As he heads into year three, there's a decent chance the Patriots don't believe that Asiasi is worth a roster spot anymore.

Asiasi was a third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, so it's clear he has upside. The problem is he has shown nothing to make anyone think his potential is attainable over the first two seasons of his career. Will that change in 2022 if he's given a roster spot?

Asiasi still has an uphill climb for playing time in New England considering he's sitting behind Henry and Smith on the depth chart. The Patriots could explore trading him, but given how he's done virtually nothing throughout the start of his career, he has no value. Asiasi has potential, but unless he does something drastic in tonight's preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders tonight, he may find himself without a team come Week 1 of the regular season.

2. Kristian Wilkerson

To his credit, Kristian Wilkerson has always looked pretty good when he takes the field for the Patriots. The problem is that he has never been able to consistently find his way onto the field. Wilkerson has been a solid player throughout training camp over the past three seasons now, but his inability to translate it to the regular season could result in him losing his roster spot.

Wilkerson really played in just one game last season, and it was New England's 50-10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Wilkerson had a solid game, catching four passes for 42 yards and a pair of touchdowns. But he was only playing because the Patriots were short handed at wide receiver. Other than that, Wilkerson hasn't been a factor in the regular season over the past two seasons.

This could be the season Wilkerson makes the jump, but it may not be with the Patriots when they make their cuts. They are returning their top trio at wide receiver (Jakobi Meyers, Kendrick Bourne, and Nelson Agholor) while also adding DeVante Parker in a trade and drafting Tyquan Thornton in the second-round of the 2022 NFL Draft. A crowded wide receiver room has become even more crowded, and Wilkerson may get the short end of the stick here when Patriots roster decisions get tight.

1. Myles Bryant

Myles Bryant filled in admirably as New England's top slot cornerback after Jonathan Jones was forced to miss most of the 2022 season with a shoulder injury. He had the pass breakup that helped the Patriots seal a 14-10 win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 13, and seemed to be an adequate replacement for Jones. That would be the highlight of Bryant's season unfortunately, as he would proceed to get torched by Buffalo the next two times he played against them.

With Jones seemingly set to move to an outside corner role to accommodate for J.C. Jackson's departure in free agency, it would make sense to slide Bryant back into the slot corner role. But so far throughout camp, Bryant has been outplayed by just about every other corner on the roster. 2022 draft picks Marcus and Jack Jones have both been extremely exciting players early on, and Shaun Wade has looked great after missing most of the 2021 season.

Bryant still has value in special teams and as a gritty situational cornerback, but his struggles to end last season, combined with the rise of other players at the position, make him a serious cut candidate. Bryant could be the toughest of the Patriots roster cuts to make, but it may be necessary to open up a roster spot for another player.