The State of the New England Patriots: 2026 Edition

Things move quickly in the NFL, even if you're one of the two teams in the Super Bowl. Now, coming off a loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Patriots are like every other team: they're waiting for the new league year to roll around in just under a month and gearing up for the combine, which starts in two weeks.

As much of an improvement as it was year over year for this team, the Super Bowl certainly showed there's still a way to go if the Patriots want to win another title. The good news for them is that you now have a well-established core group of players who've at least had a long playoff run and know what it takes to get as far as they did, a knowing that your players have an elite level of buy-in with this coaching staff, and you have the assets and financial flexibility (nowhere near as much as last year but enough to make a few moves), to add/retain talent as needed. It's certainly going to be tougher next year, but I'm not as worried about the schedule as most seem to be. This is a good team that has the chance to build on an excellent season, even after the Super Bowl defeat.

Coaching Stability

With the success that Zak Kuhr had this year, and especially so in the back half of the season as the de facto defensive coordinator, it felt inevitable that he was going to get the permanent title, given the health status of Terrell Williams this year. The good news is that Williams is now cancer-free and going to be sticking around in what is likely akin to an assistant head coach role. While not official yet, I'd be absolutely stunned if Kuhr isn't given the title at some point in the next couple of weeks. The only name I'd even give minor consideration to is Jim Schwartz, and even then, I would still lean toward Kuhr. He deserves a ton of props for stepping in with no prior play-calling experience and growing into the role as he did.

Another notable coaching note is that QBs coach Ashton Grant had an opportunity to become the offensive coordinator of the Raiders under Klint Kubiak and opted to stay in New England. A nice development, seeing as Drake Maye credits him for helping with the transition from the Alex Van Pelt to Josh McDaniels playbook, and keeps a level of continuity on that side of the ball that anyone can hope for. You can say that about both sides of the ball, to be frank, a great and underappreciated development after the last several years.

Attacking Free Agency

Before we get into who the Patriots can/should add, we need to talk about who they should prioritize bringing back from their own free-agent group. That list has to begin with Khyiris Tonga, who was a revelation and cult favorite this year as a 0-2i Tech IDL, and his market value, according to the folks over at Spotrac, is only 3.1 million. That's an absolute no-brainer, and giving him even double that annually wouldn't dissuade me. Jaylinn Hawkins, at a projected value of 8.28 million, wouldn't be a bad re-up either, but I'd put him and K'Lavon Chaisson in the same category: if another team is willing to outbid you, don't overreach. Lastly, tight end Austin Hooper leaving wouldn't stun me. The Patriots need to get younger at tight end as it is.

Surprisingly, the Patriots sit in 12th for cap space heading into the new league year next month, and they have some avenues to add to a projected $41,000,000 in space. Namely, if this were a one-and-done season for Stefon Diggs, letting him go would save the team a tick over 16 million dollars, moving on from Garrett Bradbury, which would likely lead to Jared Wilson kicking in at center, would add another five, and, while unlikely in my view as of today, letting go of Hunter Henry would create 9.75 million in aditional cap space. Add in some realistic restructuring candidates like Christian Barmore and Harold Landry, and a very obvious extension candidate in Mike Onwenu, and the Patriots have no shortage of avenues to free up short-term cap space.

Now, what should they do with it? I don't envision them being in on the big, big fish of this class like Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum, Bengals EDGE Trey Hendrickson, and especially Cowboys wideout George Pickens, but some good players in this class make sense without going overboard. Here are some big-ticket options, middle-tier options, and a value-level option for a few different positions the Patriots should be looking to upgrade at; speciffically at tight end, IOL, and EDGE. (Spotrac's projected AAV in parentheses below)

Tight End: Kyle Pitts (Atlanta Falcons, $10.83 million), Cade Otton (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, $7.91 million), Grant Calcaterra (Philadelphia Eagles, $2.45 million)

There's a near guarantee Pitts is going to cost around a half dozen million dollars per year more annually, so ignore that number, but coming off a career year where he made Second-Team All-Pro, he's going to be a hot commodity and almost certainly elsewhere next year anyway. Ideally, the Patriots bring in another blocking tight end no matter what, but Pitts isn't a complete zero in that area like Hunter Henry was for most of this year. He's probably the "biggest fish" I can see the Patriots going out of their way to get.

Left Guard: David Edwards (Buffalo Bills, $19.90 million), Issac Seumalo (Pittsburgh Steelers, $9.60 million), John Simpson (New York Jets, $6.31 million)

It's been a while since the Patriots have had a notable poach from the Buffalo Bills in the vein of Stephon Gilmore or Chris Hogan, and Edwards would be such a move. A guard with a championship pedigree with the '21 Rams, Edwards is coming off a career year in Buffalo, and is going to have no shortage of suitors, so don't get too married to the idea of him coming to Foxborough. Even so, guys like Issac Seumalo, John Simpson, and even Alijah Vera-Tucker make some sense as good options that won't be bank-breaking for New England. Seumalo would probably be my preferred option from this group. He'd be a short-term solution, but he's been nails for the wide majority of his career between the Steelers and Eagles, 2025 being no exception.

EDGE: Jaelan Phillips (Philadelphia Eagles, $17.33 million), Al-Quadin Muhammad (Detroit Lions, $7.89 million), Kyle Van Noy (Baltimore Ravens, $3.50 million)

Phillips is someone most Patriots fans are familiar with at this point, given his tenure with the Dolphins, but he'd be a risky move if they wanted to make it, given his extensive injury history. His post-trade stint with the Eagles. It would also be fair to note he didn't really convert pressures into sacks much at all this year, despite finishing 11th in the former category league-wide. His price would have to come down a decent bit for me to feel good about the Patriots bringing him in.

The 2026 Draft

Assuming the Patriots don't move their first-rounder and are there at 31, my best guesses are they either get themselves a long-term fix at right tackle or an edge rusher, as it's a good draft for both, and they'll have some good options there most likely. In our first Mock Draft of the cycle, the Patriots ended up with Arizona State product Max Iheanachor, a right tackle born in Nigeria who's been perhaps the best lineman in the Big-XII after taking up football much later than normal (naturally given his path), but some other names I like that would be great picks if they fall there would be Miami EDGE Akheem Mesidor, Clemson OT Blake Miller, Clemson EDGE TJ Parker, and for now, I'd throw in Mizzou EDGE Zion Young. The only realistic pass-catching options I'd keep an eye on are Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq and Indiana wideout Omar Cooper Jr.

Beyond that, the Patriots should use the draft beyond that to add some depth at linebacker and safety if they can help it, but I'd also like to see them attempt to bring in a developmental project at QB in the later rounds if someone catches their eye, and another running back who has some pass-catching upside certainly couldn't hurt.

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