Some crazy exec picks Patriots 9th in AFC

Apparently, reaching the Super Bowl wasn’t enough for one NFL executive to buy into the New England Patriots.

The Patriots enter the 2026 season looking to defend their AFC title after finishing 14-3 and reaching Super Bowl LX last year. Yet, according to a recent poll of six anonymous NFL executives, one has New England finishing ninth in the conference and missing the playoffs entirely.

“They faced a few quarterbacks last year that I did not even know who they were, and I work in the National Football League,” one exec said, via The Athletic.

“Cook? Who was that?” the exec added. “They play a tougher schedule this year, and frankly, their team is thin. The head coach said so himself.”

There are reasons to believe New England could take a step backward in 2026. The Patriots benefited from a historically favorable schedule in 2025, and their path will be difficult this time around. That doesn’t mean they won’t be playing ball in late January.

The overall consensus for the Patriots put them 4th with an average of 4.8, so the other five executives are confident in the Patriots returning to the playoffs.

“New England can take a drop because of the schedule, but they still have the Jets twice and Miami twice, and I like their coaching, so that’s why I left them up there a little bit,” one of the execs ranking New England third said.

New England still has Drake Maye coming off a season in which he finished second in MVP voting. More importantly, the Patriots gave their franchise quarterback a No. 1 receiver by acquiring A.J. Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason.

Nobody should expect the Patriots to cruise back to the Super Bowl. But they will finish better than 9th. They have plenty to prove in 2026, but finishing ninth in the AFC would be a massive disappointment.