Below are some of the highlights (and some lowlights) of the Pats offseason so far.
Key Additions/Returners:
Drake Maye, QB: Wow, this could not have gone better. He would have been my top choice at QB even if we had the number 1 pick. He’s absolutely our guy. I’m happy we got him some new WRs and offensive linemen because we needed help there and still do. Now we need to let him develop and simaltaneously keep building up the team around him. Don’t have the reason he doesn’t succeed be because we didn’t give him anything to work with. Luckily, the great thing is that he can sit behind Jacoby Brisset for a year if needed and develop while we continue to build up our team in free agency and the draft next year. I don’t like the Joe Milton pick unless they end up moving him to TE. It makes no sense to have two rookie QBs that you need to develop, so hopefully he switches positions.
Ja’Lynn Polk, WR: I have high hopes for Polk. He was overshadowed by Romeo Odunze, but still had a great season for Washington. He’s got great size and should immediately become our WR1. In recent history, many stud WRs have been taken in the early 2nd round, so Polk could develop into a star WR for us.
Caedan Wallace, OT: He is a player with a low floor, but a high ceiling. He could end up contributing nothing or being a great player for years to come. It helps that he can play left tackle or right tackle, so hopefully he can make an impact his rookie year.
Jacoby Brissett, QB: I love signing Brissett to a 1 year deal for $8 mil. It is a perfect low risk move that gives us a potential bridge QB who is a great guy and teammate.
Mike Onwenu, G/T: Signing him to a 3 year deal for $57 mil is a little expensive, but I’m happy they kept him. Having a good offensive line is huge for a young QB and Onwenu can play both guard spots and right tackle so he’s a huge asset. The Pats have let great homegrown offensive lineman like Joe Thuney leave in recent years so I love that we kept Onwenu around.
Kendrick Bourne, WR: I think we overpaid him at 3 years, $33 mil, but its good to have our best WR from last year back. Ideally we draft a couple weapons and he is our number 3 receiver, but he’s still a good guy to have around.
Hunter Henry, TE: I feel similar about this signing as I do with Bourne. That being said, he’s our best red zone option and can be a great safety blanket for a young QB.
Kyle Dugger, S: The Pats placed the transition tag on him, then signed him to a 4 year $58 million deal. He’s a good player and seems like a good guy, but I don’t get why they shelled out such a big deal to a guy who is 28 and doesn’t play a premium position.
Christian Barmore, DT: The Pats signed Barmore to a massive 4 year deal worth up to $92 million. He’s now the 7th highest paid DT in the league and it’s the biggest non-Tom Brady contract in team history. They easily overpaid Barmore. However, the one thing that eases my disagreement is that only about $40 million is guaranteed. Seeing as the Pats have plenty of cap space and no real stars they need to resign soon, it still isn’t a good deal, but isn’t detrimental. Barmore was pretty good last year and let’s hope he now raises his game even more.
Key Depatures:
Mac Jones, QB: This was a great move. Having Mac there would be awkward for our new QB and the fact we got anything for him is huge. A 6th round pick isn’t amazing, but Brady was a 6th round pick so you never know what they could get.
Trent Brown, T: He was by no means that good, but losing your left tackle is important, especially with a new young QB. They need to replace him.
Overall, I’m very happy with how this offseason went. The Pats got their potential franchise QB and some WRs and offensive lineman in the draft, which were their three biggest needs. That shows that they are willing to invest significant time and draft capital into offensive players, which they have been terrible at the last decade plus. They also resigned some key lineman and receivers, while cleaning house by trading away Mac Jones. I don’t expect us to win a lot of games this year, but my hope is our young players can develop and the future will look bright.
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