With the NFL offseason almost wrapped up and training camp coming to a close soon, it’s a good time to take a look at each NFL team’s offseason recap as we get just a few weeks away from the start of the regular season. Let’s take a look at the New England Patriots’ new team and analyze the team’s incoming and outgoing players as they shape up for the 2026 season.
The New England Patriots are coming off a Super Bowl appearance in the new Drake Maye era and spent their offseason slightly retooling the roster as they try to capitalize on their potential to win now.
The biggest addition of the summer for the Patriots was trading for star wide receiver A.J. Brown. Brown was acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick and 2027 fifth-rounder. Maye now finally has a true No. 1 receiver entering his third season, and it’ll be interesting to see how offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels can get the most out of Brown. Brown immediately becomes the top receiving threat within the team and is coming off of another 1,000-yard season with the Eagles, where he also caught seven touchdowns.
Brown wasn’t the only new addition to the receiver group, as the Patriots also signed Romeo Doubs to a four-year, $70 million contract. Doubs caught 55 passes for 724 yards and six touchdowns last season and will line up opposite Brown to create the Patriots’ newest receiver duo.
The Patriots also added lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker, safety Kevin Byard and defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones in free agency as well. Vera-Tucker is an interesting signing as he’s a very talented and high-level guard with positional versatility when healthy, but he missed the entire 2025 season with a torn triceps and has had injury issues in previous years as well. Byard will be reuniting with Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, as the two spent time together when Vrabel coached Byard with the Titans. Byard is coming off an impressive season in Chicago, where he earned first-team All-Pro honors after recording seven interceptions.
And the last of the Patriots’ big signings includes Dre’Mont Jones, who the team signed to a three-year, $39.5 million deal. Jones split time with the Ravens and Titans and recorded a career-high seven sacks in 18 games. This signing gives New England another veteran pass rusher who can shore up the defensive front alongside Milton Williams, Christian Barmore and Harold Landry.
The Patriots didn’t have too many huge departures over the offseason, but one of their biggest losses is receiver Stefon Diggs, who left to sign with the Washington Commanders. Diggs was a major weapon for Maye last season, where he had a 1,000-yard season and was a major contributor towards the Patriots’ run to the Super Bowl. Luckily for the Patriots, the additions of Brown and Doubs have actually improved the receiver room compared to last year.
The Patriots also made a few trades, one being sending Garrett Bradbury to the Bears, and another sending Kayshon Boutte to the Texans just a few days back. Bradbury was traded in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round pick, and even though he was a serviceable lineman with the Patriots, it’s likely Vera-Tucker or Jared Wilson will slide into the center spot. Boutte, on the other hand, was traded a few days ago to Houston for safety Jaylen Reed and a 2028 seventh-round pick.
The Patriots had nine selections in the 2026 NFL Draft, and many of their picks addressed positions of need such as tackle and edge rushers. Their first-round pick was tackle Caleb Lomu out of Utah, trading up to the 28th overall pick to select him. Lomu is one of the more athletic tackles from his draft class, and even though he may not start for the Patriots this upcoming season, he certainly has the size and talent to be a successful tackle at the NFL level.
The Patriots also selected Gabe Jacas with their second-round pick, giving them some more depth at the edge and a young pass rusher to help fill the loss of K’Lavon Chaisson while Harold Landry comes back from injury.
The Patriots made plenty of acquisitions over the offseason and have set themselves up nicely for the upcoming 2026 season with the same core that got them to last year’s Super Bowl but now with a new infusion of signings. After a breakout season for quarterback Drake Maye, the Patriots have given him new weapons in A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs and made investments to protect him by signing Alijah Vera-Tucker and Caleb Lomu. They also invested on the defensive side of the football by signing Kevin Byard and Dre’Mont Jones and overall had a really strong free agency period, bringing in more talented players than they lost. The Patriots are set up really well to be one of the top contenders in the entire NFL and AFC, and will have their eyes on returning to the upcoming Super Bowl, hoping to bring back the Lombardi Trophy this time.
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