The New England Patriots were once the pillar and standard of excellence in the NFL. But times are changing and a new era is embarking upon us in Foxborough. Tom Brady left the franchise a few years ago and after a few pedestrian seasons, the architect of the Patriots' dynasty, Bill Belichick, soon followed after a disastrous 4-13 season.
But at least New England is positioned well to turn things around. They have the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and entered this offseason with a boatload of cap space to work with. They used part of that space to re-sign star offensive lineman Michael Onwenu. That constituted the best move the Patriots have made so far this offseason. But their trade of Mac Jones and the return they got for him was puzzling.
Best move: Re-signing Michael Onwenu
The current state of the Patriots' offensive line could not stomach its best player's departure. That's why they made sure to avoid that doomsday scenario. Michael Onwenu is one of the most underrated offensive linemen in the entire NFL. He has been nothing but stout at right tackle over the last couple of seasons.
New England needed to keep Onwenu around long term. The Patriots did exactly that to the tune of a three-year $57 million extension. Last season, the Patriots ranked 32nd in the league in pass block win rate according to ESPN.com. There are 32 teams in the NFL, so it isn't very good to own that ranking in any type of metric. In addition to that, New England relinquished 48 sacks in 2023, which was the ninth-highest figure in the league. Only the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears, and Cincinnati Bengals gave up more last season.
Though the Patriots were able to keep Onwenu around, there is still work to be done regarding their offensive line. They retained their right tackle, but their left tackle, Trent Brown, signed a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. New England will likely throw picks up front during the 2024 NFL Draft, but at least they locked up one building block they know and trust. This was a great move by the Patriots.
Grade: B+
Worst move: Trading Mac Jones
The time is right for both the Patriots and Mac Jones to move their separate ways. Jones has struggled mightily the last couple of seasons after a promising rookie campaign, and New England is poised to draft either Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels with the third overall pick in the 2024 Draft. With Jacoby Brissett also inking a one-year deal to reconvene back in Foxborough, Jones' services were no longer necessary.
It made sense to trade him to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and it made sense for the Jags to go find a quality backup quarterback. But New England was only able to acquire a sixth-round pick for Jones? There may be other factors in play as to why, most notably the fifth-year option that now looms over Jacksonville's heads.
But other quarterbacks netted much more in trades. The Seattle Seahawks moved back from the third and fifth round of the upcoming draft to the fourth and sixth round with the Washington Commanders to acquire Sam Howell. The Eagles worked a similar swap from the third to the fourth round with the Pittsburgh Steelers to trade for Kenny Pickett while also dishing out a couple of future seventh-round picks.
Jones has been nothing special over the last couple of seasons. Among quarterbacks with at least 320 snaps since 2022, he ranks 39th among 46 qualified quarterbacks in EPA plus CPOE composite score. That's not very good, but Howell and Pickett weren't much better. They rank 37th and 32nd in that same metric over that span and the difference in their overall scores is nearly negligible.
Maybe teams just don't want to deal with Jones' fifth-year option. New England also doesn't need to hold onto him anymore either. Regardless, it's a disappointing return to end a disappointing tenure for a guy who, at least as a rookie, looked like he could be the next franchise quarterback in New England.
Grade: C-
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