Another pitiful season for the New England Patriots should signal a much-needed rebuild in 2024.
That rebuild could happen with or without coach Bill Belichick, and it will likely be focused more on the offensive side of the ball.
The current quarterback situation looks broken with Mac Jones under center, but to be fair, there isn’t enough talent around him to save the unit even if Patrick Mahomes was at quarterback.
A mediocre offense combined with a healthy defense might have yielded desired results for Belichick and company. But the offense has been a complete flop worthy of a reboot.
It’s out with the old and in with the new for the Patriots in 2024. Here are five potential rebuilding scenarios for the team next season:
The Deion Sanders Show in New England
When appearing on the Pats Interference Football Podcast with Andrew Callahan, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe had a fun what-if scenario with the Patriots signing Deion Sanders as their next head coach.
After making the signing, the Patriots would then use the No. 3 overall pick on Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and a second-round pick on quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
It’s an intriguing scenario that would ensure the Patriots get their quarterback for the future and elite No. 1 receiver in back-to-back picks. Shedeur also has a built-in relationship with former longtime Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who has helped mentor him at the position.
So the New England ties are already rooted there, assuming all of the dominoes fall into place. Shedeur under center with Harrison and Demario Douglas at receiver would be a strong start to rebuilding the offense. As for the coach, it doesn’t get much better than Deion when it comes to being a leader of men.
Going in the grizzled veteran direction
The projected top-two picks of the 2024 NFL draft are Caleb Williams and Drake Maye. Depending on how the season ends and the needs of other teams, the Patriots may or may not be in position to draft one of those players.
Granted, they aren’t the only quarterback options on the board, but things get a bit tricky when selecting outside of the top-two. The Patriots could mitigate those concerns by signing or trading for a veteran signal-caller, if they fail to end up with a high enough draft pick.
Some of the more obvious options on the table would be Kirk Cousins and Ryan Tannehill. They wouldn’t be the most exciting choices in New England, but they would give the Patriots more time to rebuild the offense before throwing a young quarterback into the same dumpster fire situation that Mac Jones has been melting in for the last two seasons.
Outside of Cousins and Tannehill, trading for a player like Kyler Murray would be the most intriguing option overall, assuming the Arizona Cardinals are preparing to hit the do-over button. Murray under center would put the Patriots in position to go after a major offensive playmaker like Marvin Harrison Jr.
They could also devote the rest of the draft and their time in the offseason to boosting the skilled positions and offensive line. Murray is only 26 years old, and his versatility as both a runner and passer brings an element to the offense the Patriots don’t have with Jones.
Drafting for the future
This is the easiest and most sensible path on this list.
The offense stinks right now, and there are more question marks at quarterback than a Riddler crime scene. So the obvious way to get better is to go after one of the top-two quarterbacks in the draft, Caleb Williams or Drake Maye, and hit the reboot button on the offense.
The Patriots are one of the worst teams in the NFL right now, and there’s a chance they end up with at least one of the top-three draft picks. If they land at No. 3 overall, they’re going to need one of the teams ahead of them to stay away from drafting one of the top-two quarterbacks.
It isn’t impossible with a generational playmaker like Marvin Harrison Jr. also on the board. He could create the shake-up needed for a team like the Patriots to land their quarterback of the future.
The Patriots could look to free agency and the trade market, along with the draft, when it comes to building the roster around their young quarterback. They’d have the cap space to get in on the bidding war for a top-tier player like Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins.
The combination of Higgins and Demario Douglas, along with Rhamondre Stevenson at running back, would be a major push in the right direction for the offensive skilled positions.
Giving Mac Jones one last look without Bill Belichick
Most are ready to turn the page on Mac Jones as the quarterback in New England, but it’s also important to point out the fact that the Bill Belichick-led Patriots have failed him at every turn.
He’s had three different offensive coordinators in the last three seasons, one of the worst offensive lines in the league and a serious lack of high-end talent at receiver. The Patriots were constructed to play to the strength of their defense by running the ball, hitting short throws and not turning the ball over.
And so far, that plan has failed miserably.
Jones looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the country at the University of Alabama, when he had an elite offensive line and receiving talent. The Patriots could opt to hire an offensive-minded coach and rebuild the unit around Jones for one last run.
Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson or Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy are the first two names that come to mind as potential options as coaches.
With Jones on the roster, the Patriots could go after a receiver like Denver Broncos’ Jerry Jeudy, along with drafting Marvin Harrison Jr., and completely reshape the roster around Jones.
Roll the dice down the draft board
Even if the Patriots don’t come away with Caleb Williams or Drake Maye, there are other options down the draft board the team could take into consideration.
Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. jump out immediately as potential options for the Patriots. Oregon’s Bo Nix could also be an interesting choice for New England.
There’s obvious risk in drafting any quarterback, but that risk is magnified outside of Williams and Maye. Not only could the Patriots miss at quarterback, but they could miss on adding a player to the roster that could have boosted the team significantly at a different position.
Imagine missing on Marvin Harrison Jr. after reaching on a quarterback that didn’t work out. It’s a potential nightmare scenario the Patriots must take into consideration.
Of course, that’s assuming those quarterbacks go in the first round, which isn’t a sure-thing. The Patriots could draft Harrison and use a second-round pick for their quarterback of the future. That would be the more rational approach, if the team fails to draft one of the top-two quarterbacks.
If the Patriots draft a quarterback, they would be better off moving away from Bill Belichick and allowing a new coach, whether that’s Jerod Mayo or another coach, have their shot at developing him. The last thing New England needs is a repeat of the Mac Jones situation.
