New England Patriots 25-26 NFL Season Preview

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  • By Jon Mosales

    Last Updated on June 17, 2025 1:09 pm by André Lemos | Published: June 2, 2025

     

    The AFC East was a mess last season and as bad as the Jets and Dolphins were, few teams in all of football were as pathetic as the New England Patriots.  It was a three-way tie for the most inept segment of the team between the offense, the defense and the coaching staff.  The good news is that one of those was an easy fix and ex-Pat Mike Vrabel has replaced Jerod Mayo as HC and that alone should be worth a handful of wins.  The only thing the Pats did well last year was lose and they couldn’t even do that properly, winning the last game of the season to fall out of contention to get the first pick in the draft.  There isn’t much value in throwing dirt on the 2025 Pats’ grave, but we have to illuminate how broken the offense was at nearly every outlet.  They finished 30th in PPG and 26th or worst FPPG for the QB, RB and WR positions.  If the strategy to lose was from the jump, starting Jacoby Brissett for five games was brilliant, but it also likely cost Mayo his job.

    Moving on, the Drake Maye (QB23) era is now in full bloom and regardless of whether he’s closer to Jayden Daniels or Bryce Young, the 2025 NE offense is going to at least pack some punch.  Maye showed just enough promise to make me believe he can resuscitate this offense with his legs and arm, but like any terrible offense, everything starts with the protection.  Last season, the offensive line was 31st in pressure rate (39.5%) and 29th in sack rate (9.0%) despite being just 12th in time to throw (2.91 seconds).  Drafting OT Will Campbell will help and so will adding Morgan Moses, but the line is a long way from being stalwart.  With more time to let plays develop and not being under siege from the snap, there is enough reason to buy-in to Maye for fantasy.

    The Pats didn’t just upgrade their o-line, they also went out and drafted Ohio State RB stud TreVeyon Henderson.  The lackluster duo of Rhamondre Stevenson (RB27) and Antonio Gibson (RB44) now gets supercharged with the addition of a true game-breaking RB who will finally force defenses to respect the run game.  Together, Henderson and Maye form an elite rushing tandem that is going to at least threaten the upper echelon of the QB/RB duos.  They won’t be as prolific as the Eagles or the Ravens, but they also can be had at a fraction of the cost.   It’s crazy how much a difference a season can make because while the WR room remains a giant question mark, they drafted WR Kyle Williams in the third round which has promise, but also hope sophomore Kashon Boutte can build on a strong finish to the season where he had at least 95 yards in two of the last three games.  The NE WRs aren’t going to scare anybody, but it’s been a weakness going on forever and now with Williams, Boutte and DeMario Douglas (WR52), there is at least a foundation of something that looks promising.

    Player most likely to beat ADP: Trevyeon henderson (ADP 70, RB25)

    Rookies will always be tantalizing because it’s impossible to rank them properly.  Henderson could be a bust or he could be the next Bucky Irving.  As a mid-round pick on an up-and-coming offense, this is a great bet that has a chance to really pay off later in the season.  I fear I will always take him around this spot or even earlier.


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    June 2, 2025, 12:02 pm