The New England Patriots offense had its issues throughout the playoffs, with one position group in particular bearing the brunt of the criticism: the offensive line, which had looked good for much of the season but struggled with consistency against some of the top defenses in the NFL. Unsurprisingly, Patriots fans also believe that the offensive line is in need of an upgrade.
The results of the latest SB Nation Reacts survey show that 55% of participants view offensive tackle and offensive guard as their top choice to be upgraded: 41% picked tackle, with 14% naming guard as the position the team has to look at before all others.
That comes as no surprise. Left guard Will Campbell had a rough playoff run coming off an MCL injury, while left guard Jared Wilson had similar if lower-profile issues. The rest of the O-line, meanwhile, experienced its ups and downs as well.
As a look at the comment section shows, however, there is no universal agreement when it comes to the Patriots’ primary need.
JCRpatsfan
I would say offensive line in general but they need to take the best player available at 31 and at 63. Could be guard, center or RT, or a tight end that blocks like Gronk did. I want the first contact with our RB to be 1 or 2 yards beyond the line of scrimmage and football will make me happy again. However they do that I’m good with it.wrw921
I favor a hybrid draft strategy between BPA and positional needs. However, I really don’t think a system appropriate DE/ED or a OT with legitimate first round grades will be there at 1 (31). I’ve been leaning toward taking ILB Anthony Hill Jr, out of Texas in the first on my recent mock drafts.ThunderMonkee
LG, WR1, C and EDGE, maybe LB. Those are in order. A developmental, high ceiling TE wouldn’t hurt either.Sdceltsfan
#1 OT: Draft an OT that can start out at Left Guard but also fill in at OT in case of injury, and then to eventually replace Moses at RT who is not gunna be around forever. This allows Jared Wilson to play at Center, and puts a bigger body next to Campbell on the left side of the line. Luckily there are way more OT prospects this draft compared to last year, so at #31 it’s pretty likely a very good one will still be on the board. #62 might be too long to wait so that would require a trade-up.
#2 Edge improvement: I would just try to sign Trey Hendrickson. Mostly because the edge rushers at the end of the 1st and the Day2 guys are not sticking out. So I don’t trust whoever we pick to be an immediate impact. Hendrickson is 31 and can probably be signed for 22-25 million a season and gives us leverage to keep Chaisson’s deal reasonable, or he walks.
#3 Mack Hollins upgrade: Drake Maye needs a true Xwr that can unlock more of his ability as a thrower. A dynamic catch radius guy with more of a route tree than Hollins who can actually high point some jump balls and just make big plays more often and in the red zone. Love Mack, but he’s just not a WR1SomeRandomPatsFan
Depends on what Moses does. If he retires then there’s a glaring hole at RT and we would have to pick a lineman. If not, then it’s WR. Yes the line struggled during the super bowl, but the WRs got almost no separation. Maye needs a dependable target to throw to. We can have a fantastic line and it means nothing if the receivers can’t get open and leave Maye back there just holding onto the ball.The Hydrogel Cowboy
The offensive line. Especially the left side got steamrolled in the Super Bowl. How exactly we improve there is beyond me, but I think a huge part of it would be if Will Campbell simply gets better and matures as an NFL tackle. He’s so young and he still has a lot to learn. If he can learn it, and get better this offseason, that will help a ton and save free agent money and draft capital for investment elsewhere.nittanylions1972
I order of greatest need:
LT
Edge
Punter
WR
TE
S
DT
CB
DEKdog
After we drop Diggs the top need will be WR1. After we move Wilson to OC we will have an immediate need at LG. Both of these needs must be addressed via Free Agency. Picking at 31-63-95, we can’t expect to land immediate starters. Those picks can be used to shore up the depth issues we were lucky to not have exposed in a year of great health: RT, CB, TE, S. And like all teams, we need to keep building up our stock of impact EDs. Our needs at LT, RB, and WR2 can be addressed by internal development.fightingirish33
Fix Maye first!! Why can’t he EVER do the QB sneak? Why can’t he handle “hurry up” offense EVER? Why does he not have a mental clock in his head? Most NFL QB’s get the ball out of their hands under 3 seconds. Maye holds onto the ball until he is strip sacked?? Why does Maye NEVER check out of a called play and have a backup play ready once he sees the defense set? Then fix the O-Line. Seeing Vrable said he is not moving Campbell, move Wilson to Center and get a veteran LG-Isaac Seumalo from Pitt. If Moses retires, go get RT Braden Smith from Colts. Use Diggs $23 mill and sign Colts WR Alec Pierce. Then get a REAL TE!!! Possibly Likely or Pitts as #1 TE and use Henry as #2 option. Under the radar move: Sign RB Rico Dowdle and dump Gibson!! Sign Rashan Gary and get rid of Barmore and his legal problems and save $83 mill. If we lose a LB in FA, go get LB Devon Bush.DumpTruck
LG
C
DE
WR
LB
S
Punter
CB depth
Honestly, DE/WR/LB are really have the same weighting in terms of need. Just grab whatever quality might be available.
All in all, this week’s survey results look as follows:
While the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks was rather lopsided in nature — they fell behind 19-0 before making a short-lived push in the early fourth quarter — fan confidence remains high. A total of 98% of survey participants are still convinced in the direction the team is headed in.
That number might come as a surprise relative to the last game of the 2025 season, but it is a reflection of the fact that New England has the two most important ingredients in the pot already: a quarterback and a head coach worth building around.