2025 New England Patriots projected win total, prediction

It also loosened the team’s purse strings as the Patriots spent a league-high $365M on free agents with $197M in guarantees, per Over the Cap. Among those joining the team are defensive end Milton Williams (four years, $104M), wide receiver Stefon Diggs (three years, $69M) and former Titans linebacker Harold Landry III (three years, $43.5M).

Vrabel played a part in drafting Landry while head coach of the Titans in 2018 and led him to a Pro Bowl season in 2021. Williams is coming off a breakout season with Philadelphia that included a pair of sacks in Super Bowl LIX, and Diggs has six 1,000-yard seasons in his 10-year career and may have had another if not for a torn ACL that ended his 2024 season after eight games. 

New players aside, the Patriots will go as far as second-year quarterback Drake Maye can take them next season. New England took Maye third overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, and while he showed promise, the team went 3-9 in his 12 starts.

Despite those numbers, some oddsmakers remain high on Maye and the Patriots. While the team was favored to win no games last season, DraftKings has New England favored in 11 of its 17 games in 2025.

Even former Patriot Rob Gronkowski is on board. During an appearance on the "Bussin’ With the Boys" podcast, Gronkowski spoke highly of the hiring of Vrabel and the team’s approach to rebuilding the roster.

"What they’re doing in New England, you can’t really argue with any of the moves that they have made so far. I think they have made every move correctly with the draft with who they took, all the way from free agency, they had all of that money and they went and got the guys they needed to get for the positions they needed to get. I’m going on record to say that they’re making the playoffs this year," Gronk said.

Our take: Who are we to argue with Gronk? Assuming Will Campbell, the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, can hold down the left tackle spot and second-round running back TreVeyon Henderson lightens the load for fifth-year running back Rhamondre Stevenson, the Patriots could see double-digit wins in 2025.

Predicted win total: 10