Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots have ended their offseason program and now break until training camp later this month. While players are out of the facility, plenty remains to break down.
So, let’s get into this week’s #PostPulpit Mailbag.
Next week players will be back and we ll know better if Gonzalez is satisfied and Jacas signed/healthy. In your opinion how many players have already secured their seat in the club 53 and how many positions remain really up for grabs ? – 7i165
Running through the roster I was (conservatively) currently in the high 30’s, with the following players accounting for 38 spots on the 53 man roster:
QB: Drake Maye, Tommy DeVito
RB: Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson
WR: A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams, Efton Chism III/DeMario Douglas
TE/FB: Hunter Henry, Eli Raridon, Reggie Gilliam
OL: Will Campbell, Morgan Moses, Caleb Lomu, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jared Wilson, Mike Onwenu, Ben Brown
Edge: Harold Landry, Dre’Mont Jones, Gabe Jacas, Elijah Ponder
DL: Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, Cory Durden, Joshua Farmer/Leonard Taylor III
LB: Robert Spillane, Christian Elliss
CB: Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones, Carlton Davis
S: Craig Woodson, Kevin Byard, Mike Brown
ST: Andy Borregales, Julian Ashby, Bryce Baringer/potential punter addition
That would leave ~15 spots to fill, with the biggest needs for depth on defense and along the offensive line alongside Lomu and Brown.
I feel like we NEED at least one additional linebacker of quality. The rest of this defense is just too good (even with the average EDGE personnel) to do it the disservice of not adding another LB or two. Options? Is this a “next year’s draft/FA” problem, instead? – MoiseT
As of now I’d predict that’s an addition that comes next year. But perhaps depth players like Chad Muma, K.J. Britt and rookie Namdi Obiazor don’t get off to a strong start this summer and force the team to look for an outside addition. As of now available options include Bobby Okereke, Bobby Wagner, Matt Milano, etc. They could also explore the position later in the summer around roster cutdown day.
What does Drake Maye realistically need to do to be considered a top 5 QB in the league going into 2027? – CraftBeerDrinker
How can the team address Drake Maye’s ball security issues? – slunkywontergreen
We’ll lump these two questions together because improving ball security would be a major step toward Maye becoming a consensus top-five quarterback. After fumbling nine times in 13 games as a rookie, Maye put the ball on the ground 15 times last season, including seven times in the postseason.
Part of what makes Maye special is his dual-threat ability and playmaking outside of structure. New England does not want to take that away from him, but he must do a better job protecting the football in those situations. With a greater emphasis on pre-snap communication this offseason, Maye should be able to avoid some strip sacks by getting the ball out quicker. From there, it’s simply a...
