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Heading into the 2025 NFL calendar year, the New England Patriots have a massive question they need to answer over the next two weeks: should they fill their hole at left tackle via free agency or the draft?
Well, in the humble opinion of Kay Adams on her namesake show, the choice is clear for personnel executive Eliot Wolf and company: the Patriots need to go out and sign themselves former Baltimore Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley.
“And I think it is sexy; I think Ronnie Stanley is sexy. You put him on my radar; you pitched him to me, and I said, ‘That makes a lot of sense.’ If we’re connecting dots here, obviously they need to get that o-line together. He’s the biggest free agent, okay? Talking about the Pro Bowl, Drake Maye was down there.
“Maybe he completely, you know, joked to us about talking to some of these receivers like Ja’Marr and company. I don’t know what the conversations were, but I think if you’re Wolf and Vrabel and Maye, who is clearly involved in this, and they are caring what he’s thinking, that’s the No. 1 pick. That’s where you’ve gotta go,” Adams noted.
“I mean, Tee Higgins would be great, but nothing else would matter – as we saw it in the Super Bowl – no matter how great your quarterback is, nothing matters, and I think he will totally transform the o-line.
“He’s the piece they need. It’s an exciting time for Pats fans, and they have money. Last year, they didn’t spend it; if you were living in the Mayo time when he couldn’t even handle talking about the money super well, I’m excited to see.”
Now granted, most teams can’t ask such a clear-cut question as there are so many factors that go into planning for both player acquisition periods, but the Patriots have almost $120 million in cap space plus the fourth-overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, so they can more or less shoot their shot as they see fit.
With just three picks coming before them in April and four players, Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward, Travis Hunter, and Abdul Carter, expected to go in that range, the Patriots could have their pick of either top tackle option, LSU’s Will Capp or Texas’ Kelvin Banks Jr., or they could go with a free agent like Stanley, Cam Robinson, or even Alaric Jackson from the Rams.
Which path should the Patriots take? Should the team invest in a top free agent like Stanley, who was an elite pass blocker before being diminished via injury for two-straight seasons? Or should they go for a young player who will cost a fraction of the price moving forward?
Well, considering Mason Graham will be sitting there at pick four and is a certified difference-maker at the position, Adams might be right on the money: invest in a proven player at left tackle – and maybe guard, too – and go with the highest-upside...
