Graff: Fixing the Patriots won’t be a quick process
On Wednesday’s Toucher & Hardy radio program, Chad Graff of The Athletic joined the show to describe the New England Patriots free agency situation.
Patriots an Easy Team to Fix?
Parts of conversation abbreviated for clarity.
Chad Graff: If you’re talking about truly contending, you’re talking about like 15 new starters on the Patriots.
Wallach: Yes, that’s what this team needs. So, how do you attack this? The Patriots have spent a lot of money on free agents before to try and patch up all their problems. And that fell flat. I guess that’s telling that sentence short. That did not work at all.
So, you’ve got to do what other NFL teams do. You draft, you develop, and you resign. But that’s not a quick process.
Chad Graff: True. And here’s the good news and bad news for the Patriots this offseason. The bad news is that all their positions of need are not spots that can be very well addressed in free agency. They need wide receivers. Oh, well, all the wide receivers are either getting franchise tags or resigning from their current team. So then you’re left with basically Calvin Ridley as the top option. Well, we’ll wait on a wide receiver. We can address that in the draft.
How about offensive tackle? Then you look at the available offensive linemen, and the best offensive tackle available is Mike Onwenu, who you already had. Well, who’s the second or third best? Oh, that’s Trent Brown, who you already had. It’s just not a good free-agency class for offensive tackles.
So, the spots that they need help are the spots that just are not that deep in free agency, including tight end. They don’t have a tight end on the roster. The best tight end in free agency this year is Hunter Henry, who they already had. So that’s the bad news for the Patriots offseason.
The good news is that all of those spots that we’ve mentioned are very, very deep in the draft. When you look at the Patriot’s free agency, it won’t shock me if there are a couple of surprising additions, surprising moves, a defensive starter or two who gets added. The defense was not the problem last year. The offense was the problem.
They may have to wait on some of that for the draft because the good news for the offense this offseason is that the wide receiver is super deep in the draft. The offensive tackle position is also super deep in the draft. At the tight end position in the draft, you can get some good early options. So, good news and bad news for the Pats this offseason.
Segment Audio
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How will the Patriots adjust to a thin wide receiver market in free agency?
Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 08: Marquise Brown #2 of the Arizona Cardinals runs the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals during the third quarter at State Farm Stadium on October 08, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
The Patriots have talked about ‘weaponizing’ their offense, and Brown definitely brings a ‘weaponized’ skill set with his speed and big play ability. However those skills haven’t always translated to elite production, with just one 1,000-yard season in five years (that came with the Ravens in 2021). Last year in 14 games he caught 51 passes for 574 yards and four touchdowns. With Brown size is also a concern, at 5-foot-9, 180 pounds. Brown will turn 27 in June.
Calvin Ridley
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – JANUARY 07: Calvin Ridley #0 of the Jacksonville Jaguars catches a pass for a touchdown during the first half against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on January 07, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
Ridley’s situation is a unique one. The list of players to sit out a full year for reason other than injury, then come back and produce is truly limited. Yet after missing 2022 due to a gambling suspension, Ridley returned in 2023 and despite some inconsistent play was Jacksonville’s leading receiver catching 76 passes for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns.
The Patriots would certainly take that kind of production at the wide receiver position. However, Ridley is entering his age 29 season, with the 30-year-old mark often being a line of demarcation at the wide receiver position. Even if Ridley does provide a boost in 2024, he can’t be assumed to be a long-term answer at the position, and more of a stop-gap.
Gabe Davis
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 26: Gabe Davis #13 of the Buffalo Bills carries the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half of the game at Highmark Stadium on October 26, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)
On the topic of inconsistencies, Davis is hard to pin down. For every monster game he has – and he’s had some big ones – there are two or three where he’s a relative no-show. Overall last season he caught 45 passes for 746 yards and seven touchdowns, but 57.2 percent of his receiving yards came in just four games. Meanwhile, he was held without a catch in four games in which he played over 70 percent of his snaps, and had two or fewer catches in 10 of 17 games.
Plus, at his next stop Davis won’t have Stephon Diggs across the formation from him drawing coverage. There’s certainly upside in a 6-foot-2, 225-pound receiver that can go up and get the football, but it’s also hardly a guarantee Davis provides high-level production in a new environment.
Darnell Mooney
CLEVELAND, OHIO – DECEMBER 17: Darnell Mooney #11 of the Chicago Bears warms up prior to a game against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
Mooney shined in 2021, catching 81 passes for 1,055 yards and four touchdowns. He hasn’t been able to surpass 500 yards since, although that’s likely do in part to inconsistent quarterback play in Chicago. The 26-year-old is a good deep threat with legitimate speed, but he’ll need to do more than that to carry an offense. Mooney is another player that would be a strong signing as a secondary option, but not as a top receiver.
Odell Beckham Jr.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – SEPTEMBER 10: Odell Beckham Jr. #3 of the Baltimore Ravens lines up against the Houston Texans at M&T Bank Stadium on September 10, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
The Patriots were reportedly interested in acquiring Beckham at the trade deadline in 2021. Will that interest continue a few years later. Even if it does, there’s not much incentive for Beckham to come to New England outside of money, and even with all of their cap space overpaying a 31-year-old wideout doesn’t feel like the Patriots’ best course of action.
Tyler Boyd
CINCINNATI, OHIO – NOVEMBER 12: Tyler Boyd #83 of the Cincinnati Bengals catches a pass against Denzel Perryman #6 of the Houston Texans during the fourth quarter at Paycor Stadium on November 12, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Boyd is a big, physical receiver who is more of a chain-mover than a big play threat. Again, a player that would represent a good complementary signing but isn’t going to bring the juice needed at the top of the depth chart.
Michael Thomas
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – SEPTEMBER 24: Michael Thomas #13 of the New Orleans Saints runs a pass route during a game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on September 24, 2023 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Earlier this week, ESPN’s Adam Schefter listed Thomas as one of the “top free agent wide receivers” in this class despite the fact that the 31-year-old has played a total of 20 games over the last four years. Injuries cost him his prime and now he’s on the wrong side of 30 – his WR1 days are almost certainly behind him.
Josh Reynolds
DETROIT, MICHIGAN – OCTOBER 08: Josh Reynolds #8 of the Detroit Lions makes a catch for a touchdown past CJ Henderson #23 of the Carolina Panthers in the second quarter at Ford Field on October 08, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
Reynolds had the best season of his career last year for the Lions at the age of 28, catching 40 passes for 608 yards with five touchdowns. At 6-foot-3, 194 pounds with good speed he can be a threat, but he hasn’t proven he can do it consistently. His performance last year certainly helped his value, but how much should any team be willing to bet he turns the corner now at age 29?
Donovan Peoples-Jones
CLEVELAND, OHIO – NOVEMBER 19: Donovan Peoples-Jones #11 of the Cleveland Browns warms up before the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns Stadium on November 19, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Peoples-Jones looked poised for a breakout after catching 61 passes for 839 yards and three touchdowns in 2022. However, he was slow out of the gate last season and ended up getting traded away mid-season. Still, the 25-year-old had success with Alex Van Pelt in the past. He’s not a No. 1 option, but it would make sense to find out he’s on the Patriots’ radar.
