The New England Patriots are in the midst of a deep rebuild. Years of contending for the Super Bowl and multiple ill-advised moves have led them to this point. While they struggled for most of last season, there were some signs that things would be better in the future.
That being said… that future might be quite a long way off yet. An NFL front office source talked to Mike Reiss of ESPN about the state of the Patriots so far. Said source pointed out that while the team is playing hard right now, their bad decisions from the last few years have taken a toll on their depth in certain areas.
“One NFL front office source who has watched the Patriots this preseason described his view of them this way: Improving, playing hard, but thin in multiple spots beyond their starting lineup because of shaky drafts in recent years that have contributed to a roster that will require more than one year to replenish,” Reiss wrote.
Indeed, the Patriots have some talent that they can comfortably build around. Drake Maye had a solid start to his career and seems like a solid foundational piece for the near future. They drafted star tackle Will Campbell this year, and Christian Gonzales is emerging as one of the more underrated defenders in the league. There are definitely bright spots on the team.
Unfortunately, there's just one too many holes for the Patriots to be a cohesive and competitive team this year, and maybe the next few years. Their wide receiver room is a mess, with an aging Stefon Diggs coming off a torn Achilles as their WR1. Their line was not great last year, and Campbell's presence likely won't be enough to right the ship, not this early into a rebuild at least.
Who knows, though? Perhaps the Patriots can figure out how to course-correct their trajectory as the season goes on. It will be up to the Mike Vrabel and the coaching staff to figure out how to mask some of their weaknesses.
