New England Patriots: 3 bold predictions for the rest of the offseason

The New England Patriots offseason work is in the rearview mirror for the most part. The 2022 NFL Draft took place a few weeks back, and while there are some solid free agents available, free agency has cooled off quite a bit.

Despite that, the offseason isn’t over entirely. While training camp is the next big item on the NFL calender, there is still work for New England to do before the offseason ends. Let’s take a look at three bold predictions for the New England Patriots as they finish up their offseason program.

New England Patriots bold prediction No. 3: Joe Judge will call plays on offense, Jerod Mayo will call plays on defense

One of the biggest questions heading into the offseason was who would be calling plays on offense and defense for New England in 2022. With Josh McDaniels taking the Las Vegas Raiders head coaching job, and the defense struggling to adjust with multiple people calling plays, it seemed like the coaching staff was set to grow this offseason.

And yet, for the most part, it hasn’t; in fact, it might have gotten smaller somehow. Joe Judge, who fired by the New York Giants after two terrible seasons as their head coach, was the only big name to come on board, with guys like Matt Patricia, Jerod Mayo, and Steve Belichick being some of the highest ranking coaches left on board.

There hasn’t been a clear cut replacement for McDaniels, but here’s betting Judge is the one who ends up calling plays for the offense this season. Judge recently provided a bit of an explanation of his role with the Patriots, saying that he’s been working with Mac Jones and the other New England quarterbacks. Given how important Jones is to the Pats offense, it makes sense to get him and Judge acquainted early if he were to be calling plays.

Defensively, the unit seemed to become confused down the stretch of the season with nobody being established as the true playcaller. Mayo seems to have a better overall understanding of the defense, and if there ends up being a sole playcaller on defense, he’s probably the guy.

There’s a chance that Bill Belichick decides to just roll with a title-free coaching staff of sorts, similar to last season, but given how it backfired down the stretch, it wouldn’t make much sense. Here’s betting Judge and Mayo will earn playcalling responsibilites before the start of the season, even if they don’t get announced officially.