5 Biggest Patriots Busts Halfway Through the Season

The New England Patriots are arguably the worst team in the NFL through the first nine weeks of the season. You don't get to that point without some bad team building, and the Patriots have had plenty of that in the years since Tom Brady left the franchise.

There are some individual players who are at fault as well for the way the Patriots have struggled so far this season. But who, specifically, is to blame? We're going to take a look at the five biggest busts for the New England Patriots halfway through the 2023 season and where the team might go from here.

1. Mac Jones

After somehow reaching the Pro Bowl in his rookie season with the Patriots, Mac Jones has almost inexplicably regressed to the point that I'm not even sure he's going to be a reclamation project for anyone when his time with the Patriots inevitably ends.

Jones has been in the headlines for all of the wrong reasons over the last 18 months or so, not that you blame him for perhaps being a little frustrated with the coaching staff that was assembled offensively in New England last year. Jones has missed plenty of open receivers at times this season, frustrating the heck out of Patriots fans, but the struggles extend beyond just 2023.

If anyone was truly expecting Jones to bounce back this season, it obviously hasn't happened, and it feels like time is running out on his chance to really be the Patriots' QB of the future (if it hasn't run out already).

2. JuJu Smith-Schuster

JuJu Smith-Schuster got himself a Super Bowl last season as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as a bank account full of zeroes, so he's not complaining one bit at this point.

But Smith-Schuster has been one of the biggest free agent busts of the entire 2023 offseason.

The Patriots gave Smith-Schuster, a former second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a three-year deal worth $25.5 million in total money and $16 million guaranteed. As of the time of this post being written, there are more millions in his contract than there are catches to his name this season. He has caught just 21 passes for the Patriots for an astonishingly low 6.7 yards per reception.

The Patriots must have been hoodwinked in free agency for whatever reason. They weren't willing to pay their own guy -- Jakobi Meyers -- who left for the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency. Meyers has been tremendous this season for Las Vegas, catching 40 passes for 442 yards and five touchdowns. He also added a rushing touchdown.

Smith-Schuster has done virtually nothing for this New England offense, and looks like a complete bust of a free agent pickup at this point.

3. Mike Gesicki

The New England Patriots moved on from former big-money free agent acquisition Jonnu Smith in the 2023 offseason, trading him to the Atlanta Falcons and reuniting him with Arthur Smith who had him once upon a time in Tennessee.

Reunions were somewhat of a theme here because the Patriots replaced Smith with veteran Mike Gesicki, a former Penn State product and second-round pick of the Miami Dolphins who initially committed to play for Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien when O'Brien was head coach of the Penn State program back in 2013.

Of course, O'Brien left for the Houston Texans in 2014 before Gesicki could ever play for him, but those two have had a connection dating back almost 10 years.

Too bad it hasn't really amounted to much this season.

Gesicki signed a reasonable one-year deal to join the Patriots, and through the first nine games of the season, he's caught just 19 passes, although he did catch a game-winning touchdown a few weeks back as the Patriots pulled off a shocker of an upset against the Buffalo Bills.

Gesicki has always been one of the most talented tight ends in the league when it comes to his combination of size and athleticism, but consistent productivity simply hasn't been there the last couple of years and Gesicki certainly isn't blowing anyone away in this New England offense.

4. Tyquan Thornton

The New England Patriots took Tyquan Thornton and his speed with the 50th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Just a couple of picks later, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected George Pickens...

You hate to play that "what if" game when it comes to the NFL Draft because hindsight is always 20/20, but that one definitely hurts. Tyquan Thornton has been a total bust so far for the Patriots, especially in the 2023 season where they really have needed wide receivers to step up in a big way.

Thornton has played in just three games and has three catches on seven targets. Yikes.

He was getting blasted on the internet for running this route in the Patriots' loss to the Commanders in Week 9 as well:

This is simply not the type of effort you can tolerate from a second-round pick. The Patriots are going to have to start force-feeding Thornton as the season progresses so they can find out what they've actually got here. This kind of productivity and effort is pathetic.

If he doesn't get things going soon, he could be a trade candidate in the 2024 offseason.

5. The Entire Pass Rush

Without Matt Judon playing every game this season, the New England Patriots' pass rush has suffered tremendously.

Of course, when he was healthy, Judon was doing his thing out there. He had four sacks in the first three games of the season before being injured in the fourth. Unfortunately, the Patriots' pass rush hasn't had Judon available since October 1, and until that changes, it's hard to see their pass rush taking a huge step forward.

They rank tied for 28th in the NFL right now at just 2.0 sacks per game this season, and that is a huge decrease from what we saw last season. The Patriots ranked tied for 2nd in the NFL last year at 3.2 sacks per game, right up there with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Having a pass rush can make or break a season, and for the Patriots right now, this unit has been a total bust. They're not getting enough from players like Josh Uche and rookie Keion White off the edge. New England has some players producing in the sack department, but we know pass rush is more than just sacks.

Judon's 9 QB hits through three games and change this season still lead this team, which just speaks to this team's struggles.

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