New England Patriots: Critical offseason grades post-NFL Draft

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New England Patriots Trent Brown. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

The New England Patriots have wrapped up a big portion of their 2021 offseason where the success or lack thereof will largely fashion their next season.

After a dismal season (for them) finishing 7-9, the Patriots have addressed their roster in a more aggressive manner in 2021.

This observer feels they approached this offseason in a more assertive manner than maybe ever before, and certainly it seemed the most hawkish in the Bill Belichick era.

The question to be asked is, just how well did they perform, thus far?

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Note: since we will not know definitively for months, let’s take a good look anyway. Any and all observations are of course premature since the outcome of any offseason is largely unknown until it is observed how well the players brought into the team perform.

Yet, if you bring in tested NFL players in free agency, the chances are higher that you’ll do well. Then, of course, you can have trades.

The draft is an exercise of a different nature. It’s a crapshoot at best. Great picks can come early or late and draft busts can be the same. You just never know.

Those are the facts of the matter unless your team brings in a player named Tom Brady. Yet, that eventuality has only happened to two teams since 2000.

Grading the New England Patriots offseason to-date

New England Patriots trades

First, let’s start with trades for players. To date, only one trade moves the needle on the meter and it’s a big meter and a big move. The singular best offseason move of all by the 2021 Patriots may just be the trade of swapping draft picks with Las Vegas for offensive tackle, Trent Brown.

Brown is simply a terrific acquisition, albeit only on a one-year contract. Yet, his potential value cannot be overestimated. He’s a difference-maker.

The team’s left tackle in 2018 on their last Super Bowl-winning team, Brown is a huge man and a huge asset. He may be played at right tackle (not his best position for the Patriots) but wherever he plays he will perform well.

Brown had a serious bout last season with Covid-19 limiting his season to five games. (Thanks to a reader for enlightening on this.) If he is fully healthy, he will be a force to be reckoned with.

So that leaves the grade on trades at A+++. They don’t get too much better than the trade for Trent Brown.

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