ESPN ranks the Patriots’ roster 18th in the NFL

The Patriots’ roster went through a lot of construction this offseason, spending the most money in the league by far in free agency.

All the changes at wide receiver, tight end, defensive line, and linebacker though weren’t good enough to rank the Patriots’ roster in the top half of the league, according to ESPN’s Mike Clay. The veteran NFL writer ranked the Patriots’ roster as the 18th-best in the league in a column ranking each team’s talent at every position.

The tight end and cornerback units were the highest-ranked positions for the Patriots, which were ranked as the third and fourth-best in the league at their positions, respectively. Clay also mentioned the Patriots’ tight end group as a “unit to watch.”

“Eighteen receptions, 254 yards and one touchdown. That’s the combined receiving line of the Patriots’ tight ends last season, which ties the 2016 Jets for second worst in a single season over the past decade,” Clay wrote. “Clearly not amused, Bill Belichick signed the top two free agents at the position in Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry. New England, which also has 2020 third-round pick Devin Asiasi on the depth chart, will almost assuredly jump from dead last (3%) in multiple tight end sets to near the top of the league.”

The cornerback ranking for the Patriots’ group isn’t much of a surprise. Stephon Gilmore, who won the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2019, and J.C. Jackson have consistently been ranked among the top 10 corners in the league by analysts this offseason.

The Patriots’ offensive line and safety units were also ranked in the top 10 for their positions, coming in at seventh and 10th, respectively. New England returns most of its offensive line from a year ago, with Joe Thuney being the lone departure from the starting group. Still, guards like Michael Onwenu and Shaq Mason and the return of center David Andrews solidify the interior line while Isaiah Wynn and Trent Brown should provide solid blocking on the outside. As for the safeties, Devin McCourty’s back for his 12th season, and Kyle Dugger looks to have a breakout season in his second year in the league.

The running back (18th), interior defensive line (20th), and edge rusher units (19th) were ranked in the middle-of-the-pack for their respective positions.

In the first two preseason games, the Patriots’ running backs appear to be a strength of the team, with five players (Damien Harris, James White, Sony Michel, Rhamondre Stevenson, and J.J. Taylor) showing solid production on the ground or as a receiver out of the backfield.

The interior defensive line and edge rushing units see a lot of new faces this season, including Pro Bowler Matthew Judon, who’s recorded 15.5 sacks over the last two seasons. Davon Godchaux, Henry Anderson, and Kyle Van Noy were also added in free agency while Alabama defensive tackle Christian Barmore was selected in the second round of the draft.

A couple of units that the Patriots didn’t rank well in were quarterback (25th) and off-the-ball linebacker (23rd). The Patriots are a bit of an unknown right now at quarterback. Cam Newton struggled in 2020 and while first-round pick Mac Jones has upside, he’s still yet to play in a regular-season NFL game. At off-the-ball linebacker, the Patriots return D’onta Hightower and could potentially use edge guys like Van Noy, Judon, and Josh Uche at that spot. However, they lack depth at middle linebacker outside of Hightower.

Finally, the lowest-ranked unit for the Patriots was their wide receiver group, which Clay ranked as the second-worst in the league. Even though the Patriots added veterans like Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne this offseason, it wasn’t enough for Clay to only rank them ahead of the Lions.

Going back to the overall roster rankings, the Patriots stack up well against their division rivals. Only the Bills (10th) rank ahead of them while the Dolphins (24) and Jets (31) are ranked behind them. The Buccaneers, Packers, Browns, Ravens, and Cowboys were the five highest-ranked rosters, in order.