How Much Have the Patriots Crushed the 2025 Offseason? Let Us Count the Ways.
Trust me, even as I typed that headline I heard in my head just what Loser Talk it sounds like. It's the sort of thing everyone in New England used to dine out on back in the glory days when some other fanbase declared they "won the offseason." Washington would "win" free agency by buying up the top veterans on the market. Cleveland or Detroit would "win" the draft with a bunch of sexy picks, usually skill position guys, at the top of every round. Meanwhile the Patriots would be shopping for bargains at the Free Agent Clearance rack and wait for the draft to come to them at the back end of the rounds, or trade back and load up on picks in their preferred sweet spot of Rounds 2-4. But when we got to the end of the calendar year, the 4-win teams were still 4-win teams and the perennial AFC East champs would be hitting their playoff bye week, as per usual.
Well those glory days have disappeared over the horizon behind us. Now we have the 4-win team. And the best we can hope for at the end of April is to have one of those victorious offseasons. One that would give us hope for September and beyond. With the exception of adding Drake Maye, we certainly didn't get it in 2024. But we've undoubtedly enjoyed the best five months anyone could've hoped for when Jerod Mayo and Joe Milton were backdooring us out of the No. 1 pick in the draft.
So let's enjoy this. Now, as opposed to taking the tedious wait-and-see approach preferred by boring, soulless drones with no joy in their hearts. We deserve to feel good about things. Some instant gratification. And there's no better time for instant gratification that right now. In no particular order:
The Patriots dodged a major Public Relations bullet:
Say what you will about a man's personal life, but this has become one of the top stories in the country. And is kind of distraction that can undermine confidence in leadership and send a football program into a tailspin. That's UNC's problem to deal with.
They hired the top head coach candidate available:
In Tennessee they might believe that going from Will Levis to Cam Ward is the biggest upgrade in the NFL this season. I disrespectfully disagree. That title belongs to the Patriots for going from Jerod Mayo - a rookie head coach who had never been as much as a coordinator before to Mike Vrabel, a former COTY who's taken a team to an AFC title game. More over, unlike Mayo, he's coached all over the place and therefore has connections in practically every NFL franchise and plenty of big CFB programs. So when it came time to hire staff and evaluate talent, he was able to draw on first hand knowledge. His own, and his assistants. Which brings us to:
Advertisement
They hired the top offensive coordinator available:
Here's a simple one. Say what you will about Josh McDaniels as a head coach. Everyone has. But all you need to do is look at what he got out of Mac Jones in his rookie season and what McCorkle has done under a handful of OC's after that. (But my advice is don't look directly at the numbers. Like with an eclipse, poke a pinhole in a piece of cardboard and look through that so you don't go blind.) That 2021 team was 8th in the league in points scored. In the three seasons since, three different OCs have failed to get them out of the 30s. He's worked with Vrabel. Clearly has a great working relationship with ownership. And it bears repeating that we don't have to worry about him leaving for a head coaching job ever again.
The offseason actually began with a great trade last August:
Anthony Nesmith. Shutterstock Images.Matthew Judon had been one of the best free agent signings of the 21st century in New England. Until last training camp, when he demanded a new contract, more money, and job security. Which is what every working American wants. The problem was he was pushing 30 and on a terrible team that wasn't going anywhere. So Eliot Wolf was left with no choice but to get something for him. Dealing from a position of weakness in a seller's market, The Wolf still managed to get a 3rd rounder out of Atlanta, which felt like a total swindle at the time. It turned out to be exactly that. Like Dwight Shrute trading a thumbtack that he eventually turned into a $150 telescope. The Pats ended up with the 77th pick, which they traded down to end up with Georgia C Jared Wilson (No. 95), LSU Edge Bradyn Swinson, and Chicago's 4th rounder next year. Wilson meanwhile, was the top center prospect in the entire draft, and could theoretically be switched to guard, both of which were a huge area of need this spring.
Advertisement
They had one of the top free agent hauls in the league:
• DT Milton Williams (4yr, $104M) • WR Stefon Diggs (3yr, $69M) • CB Carlton Davis (3yr, $54M) • OLB Harold Landry (3yr, $43.5M) • LB Robert Spillane (3yr, $33.0M) • OT Morgan Moses (3yr, $24M) • C Garrett Bradbury (2yr, $9.5M) • WR Mack Hollins (2yr, $8.4M) • QB Joshua Dobbs (2yr, $8M) • OLB K'Lavon Chaisson (1yr, $3M) • DT Khyiris Tonga (1yr, $2.1M) • S Marcus Epps (1yr, $2.0M) • S Jaylinn Hawkins (1yr, $1.8M) • OG Wes Schweitzer (1yr, $1.6M) • LB Jack Gibbens (1yr, $1.3M)
No less than the first seven names on his list are guaranteed to start. (Garrett Bradbury will no doubt play alongside Wilson, it's just a matter of which one lines up with the ball in his hands.) Vrabel and Wolf went into free agency with the most cap room to spend. And they spent it. On both sides of the ball. To build from the trenches-out, which was Vrabel's stated goal. With high character guys who'll establish a culture of hard work and prioritizing football. Which neutral sources - meaning not shameless Patriots fanboys - agree was one of the best free agent classes in the league in 2025:
Yahoo - Grade: A-
Why: If you dock them a bit for overpaying players that's fine. But a team that needed an infusion of talent got plenty of it, especially on defense. Offensively, Drake Maye has a veteran target in Stefon Diggs.
To put this in perspective, they only gave one A grade, which was to the Bears. After sitting on his hands last year (Austin Hooper, Antonio Gibson, not much else), Wolf did what Mayo promised he'd do last year: Burn cash. The kicker is, according to Over the Cap's numbers, the Pats are still No. 1 in cap room, $67.6 million. Las Vegas is second with $42.4 million. Meaning they might not be close to being done.
They had the consensus best draft class in the league:
In the NFL draft's equivalent of Rotten Tomatoes, the critics agree. New England's 2025 class is the feel-good hit of the spring. With only six of two dozen pundits grading them with less than an A-.
And for good reason. After doing nothing to address left tackle in free agency, it appears the reason was they were comfortable with taking Will Campbell all along. He was the near unanimous best prospect at his position. In retrospect, it was a no-brainer all along. A perfect eHarmony match of need and talent. Each just what the other had been looking for.
As far as the other picks, TreVeyon Henderson's combination of speed (NextGenStats had him clocked at 22mph, the fourth fastest among all RBs) and hands (zero sacks) had some draftgurus ranking him in their top five at the position:
Advertisement
Which is hardly the worst return to get for the 8th pick.
Keeping with the topic of value, another pick was ranked the fifth biggest steal of the entire draft:
The 33rd Team - 5. Kyle Williams, WR, Washington State – New England Patriots (No. 69)
The hope is that Stefon Diggs can be their No. 1 receiver in 2025, with the expectation that someone can step up as the No. 2.
The best bet might be Kyle Williams, whose game resembles Emmanuel Sanders'. Williams was incredibly productive during the last two seasons, playing both on the outside and in the slot. His stock rose after a terrific Senior Bowl performance and running a 4.41 at the NFL Combine. Williams is not the most physical receiver, but his ability to create quick separation will be a perfect fit in Josh McDaniels’ offense.
Williams could have easily been a top-50 selection, but falling to the top of Round 3 was a terrific value for New England. Don’t be surprised if he ends up playing ahead of Ja’Lynn Polk right away, as his game makes more sense with Drake Maye.
It's hard to argue with the assessment. Unless you're not impressed with Williams making the No. 2 pick and No. 1 defensive player in all of college football look a Juco walk-on:
I could go on. And I probably will as we get closer to practices. But this'll do for now. Just a night-and-day difference from this time last year to right now. I won't wish the summer away. But at least this year we have great things to look forward to when it's over.