Following the most dominant dynasty the sport has ever seen, the Patriot’s inevitable regression took place in 2020 as they had a rather ugly season. Many are arguing that with the absence of Tom Brady New England no longer has the caliber of the team to compete with the best, but I believe people are underselling the value Bill Belichick brought to this previously dominant team. Having a quality QB is certainly a must and while Tom Brady was better than anyone at ensuring quality play, the formula for success in New England is built to allow the QB to thrive without possessing elite traits. Before Cam Newton tested positive for Covid, he managed to run their offense in an acceptable fashion, but once he came back and injuries started to pile up, the QB play suffered severely. New England lead the league in opt-outs in 2020 and the stable of their defense, Stephon Gilmore missed six games to injury. This means they automatically have an improved team from that factor alone, and in addition, they spent more money than any other team this past free agency as well. Acquiring both Hunter Henry and Jonu Smith at TE increases the upside and explosiveness this offense was missing before and the offensive line is now complete with getting Tackle Trent Brown back from the raiders. Bill Belichick continues to show adaptation this late in his career as he took a completely different approach to this past draft. In years past, Belichick drafted using a traditional philosophy of taking only players who’d fit precise roles on the team and would ignore the value of where their players were selected. This past draft was done with modern principles as they did an excellent job identifying the areas of value, deep in the draft and came out with a handful of really nice players. The draft pick of QB Mac Jones isn’t the flashiest of first-round QBs but there actually couldn’t have been a better place for Jones to go besides New England. With an elite defense, Jones won’t be required to do anything spectacular on offense as this team will be playing in a lot of low-score games and Jones brings an excellent floor to the offense and will limit mistakes. While it isn’t the most obvious, there are plenty of unacknowledged reasons for why this team is capable of playing close to how they did with Tom Brady and I expect the Patriots to be a serious problem for teams they face in the playoffs.

New England Offense

After an anomaly of a season in New England, they landed the 15th spot in the draft and a QB perfectly fit to run this offense happened to be in this draft. That QB is Mac Jones and he is just about as ideal as anyone to replace what Tom Brady brought to this offense from a schematic perspective. Unlike pretty much every other quarterback prospect, Jones is truly NFL-ready when it comes to the mental aspect of football and has decent enough physical traits to become even better as time goes on. One component of this offense that blows other teams out the window is their run-blocking which in turn gives them a dominant run game with just average backs. The wide receivers Jones will have to throw to are underwhelming, to say the least with Nelson Algolor and Jakobi Myers at the head of the group. However, an imposing run game will allow for a minimal degree of production in the passing game, and Jones will be getting high-end pass protection which all gives him the chance to grow this his fullest potential. With TEs Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry, the Patriots have the opportunity to have the elite duo at the position they hoped for years ago. While this offense doesn’t look too pretty on paper, all of the tools are in place for them to accomplish a true identity as a group and will suffice in reinforcing their elite defense and overall culture.

Overall OFF Grade: 74.6 (21)

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New England Defense

The Patriots ranking as the best defense coming into 2021 will surely surprise a lot of people but the factor of Belichick’s coaching and the congruency and chemistry among their players give this defense an unapparelled advantage. While Stephon Gilmore had a down season in 2020 and is now in his thirty’s, we’re only one year removed from seeing Gilmore have the best single-season since Darrell Revis at the position and there were multiple reasons for his down-play that shouldn’t reoccur this season. I believe Gilmore will have the 3rd best performance at the position in 2021 and J.C. Jackson is a high-end number two corner with the potential to become elite. Jonathon Jones is a perfect slot corner in this scheme, Devin McCourty still has elite traits at the free-safety position and second-year player Kyler Dugger has a good chance to become an elite Strong Safety given the circumstances around him. Each player in this secondary is tailor-fit to this man-heavy scheme and you feel confident in these guys playing with great chemistry and communication. Having LB Donta Hightower return from his covid opt-out is a crucial addition to accomplishing this complicated and unique scheme Belichick has in place and Kyler Van-Noy is also an impactful player to return. Signing Matthew Judon was the final move this dense needed to support a sufficient pass rush as there’s multiple quality players to rotate between in the front seven. Tackling in New England has always been a priority on defense and this shows as they consistently finish among the top teams in tackling grades. Bill Belichick is nothing short of a mastermind as a coach on defense and the personnel he has assembled this past offseason is abundantly capable of supporting the most effective defense in the league

Overall DEF Grade: 82.2 (1)

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Projected Record: 11-6 (2nd DIV)

New England 2021 Schedule

• Individual grades are based on scale of 50-100.