Patriots Maligned Position Group Earns Major Recognition

The New England Patriots knew they had a whole lot to work on heading into the NFL offseason after a dreadful 4-13 campaign in 2024, marking their second straight four-win season.

Fortunately, the Patriots entered free agency with expansive cap room, so they were able to spend significantly to upgrade major problem areas.

Perhaps the biggest hole for New England was its offensive line, which was probably the league's worst last year. The Pats were able to make numerous free-agent signings to address the issue while also utilizing the NFL Draft to make things more palatable for quarterback Drake Maye heading into his sophomore season.

Andrew Ites of Pro Football Focus has certainly taken notice of the Patriots' moves in the trenches and named New England's offensive line one of the most improved such units in football.

"The front office focused on the offensive line at the beginning of free agency by signing tackle Morgan Moses, center Garrett Bradbury and guard Wes Schweitzer," Ites wrote. "... The Patriots also picked up PFF’s top offensive tackle in the draft, selecting Will Campbell with the fourth-overall pick. While most of the pre-draft conversation was about the former LSU Tiger’s arm length, he held up just fine at tackle in the SEC, ranking in the 95th percentile of FBS tackles in PFF pass-blocking grade on true pass sets since 2022."

While the Pats' offensive line still has a whole lot to prove, there is no question that it looks miles better on paper going into 2025, which should pay massive dividends for Maye and the Patriots' rushing attack.

New England also picked up a few wide receivers to help the offense, adding Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins in free agency while also drafting Kyle Williams.

With all of those shrewd decisions by the organization, the Pats should be much more appopriately set up for success next fall.