Patriots Receive Stirring Prediction

The New England Patriots may very well have undergone more of a makeover than any other team in the NFL this offseason, and it has people very intrigued by what they can achieve in 2025.

It's important to remember that the Patriots are coming off of back-to-back four-win campaigns, however, so expectations must be tempered.

Still, Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon has named New England one of the eight most interesting teams in the league going into the new NFL season, and he also feels the Pats could potentially make some noise in the AFC East.

"Are the Patriots suddenly a Super Bowl contender again? Hell nah. But could a well-coached team with decent talent and sneaky experience on both sides of the ball shock the football world and help [Drake] Maye become a bona fide franchise quarterback? Absolutely," Gagnon wrote. "Don’t be surprised if this squad leapfrogs the Jets and Dolphins and works its way into the wild-card mix with a campaign that includes some stirring upsets."

The AFC East is actually one of the league's weaker divisions once you get past the Buffalo Bills, so perhaps beating better than New York and Miami wouldn't comprise a major accomplishment. But given that the Patriots were so bad the last two years, finishing in second place would definitely represent quite the jump for the squad.

New England made significant moves on both sides of the ball over the last several months, flexing its salary cap muscles in free agency and also striking big in the NFL Draft. Plus, the Pats have also brought in Mike Vrabel as their new head coach, not to mention famed offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for a third go-around.

The Patriots should definitely be better in 2025, but there are still a lot of variables at play here, so everyone should be approaching things with cautious optimism rather than blind faith.