New England Patriots - NESN.com
The Patriots might have tipped their hand when hiring offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels — specifically as it relates to the 2025 NFL Draft.
McDaniels’ arrival not only signals a shift in scheme, but a shift in core principles on the offensive side of the ball. The Patriots historically built their rosters with two things in mind under his leadership: adaptability and leveraging player strengths — the former of which puts a lot of stress on quarterbacks.
Tom Brady is the only real example we have of both things working at the same time, as his deep-rooted knowledge of the system allowed for quick and concise adjustments during games and throughout seasons. Matt Cassell. Jimmy Garoppolo, Jacoby Brissett, Cam Newton and Mac Jones were the opposite, serving as more scheme-dependent options at the position, which is where our second point comes in.
McDaniels’ greatest attribute is formatting his system around the quarterback’s strengths, which he did with each of those guys.
Cassel hadn’t started a game since high school by the time he was thrust into the lineup in 2008, so they tapped into his athleticism and created two-read passing concepts where he was able to pick between Randy Moss or Wes Welker. Garoppolo’s experience as a backup allowed for a relatively seamless transition in the few opportunities he was given to play, but Brissett certainly didn’t have that knowledge. The Patriots essentially ran three different systems across one month in 2016, with the latter being more run-heavy to save the rookie from himself. Cam Newton was on a steep decline as a passer by 2020, so McDaniels deployed more options that allowed him to run the ball — most of which involved the usage of an extra tight end or fullback. Mac Jones has now proven himself to be an incapable backup, but during his lone season working with McDaniels, he had training wheels on and thrived by utilizing tempo and having the freedom to change aspects of certain plays.
Drake Maye? McDaniels will eventually pile things onto his plate, but while getting him used to the base concepts of the system it’ll be important to maximize the clear physical tools he possesses.
“How does this have anything to do with the 2025 NFL Draft?”
The Patriots don’t have what is needed to help the kid be as successful as he should be, and the answers aren’t as obvious as you might think.
New England’s primary focus this offseason will be upgrading the offensive line, but it is highly unlikely they’ll wait until the draft rolls around to do that. Trey Smith’s, Ronnie Stanley’s and Cam Robinson’s don’t exactly grow on trees, so you have to strike while the iron’s hot. The Patriots would then be allowed to focus on the margins during the draft, which means adding size at the tight end position, depth at running back and experienced wide receivers.
McDaniels historically likes to deploy a fullback — and very well could campaign for the addition of a...
