After one of the best single-year turnarounds in NFL history, the New England Patriots got totally outmatched and outclassed by the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 60. While there were definitely chances for the Patriots to make the game close or even take a lead at some points, the offense, defense, and special teams couldn’t play complementary football whatsoever. Sure, it was quarterback Drake Maye and the offense who took the brunt of the criticism, and rightfully so, but the defense produced no turnovers and only one sack while special teams consistently made the offense start drives from their own endzone.
Anyway you look at things, the Patriots will need some serious help in the offseason if they want to return to the playoffs and the Super Bowl in 2026 and beyond. Each of the team’s weaknesses was on full display against the Seahawks, and with New England playing a much tougher schedule in 2026, they’ll need to find ways to fill the holes on their roster.
If you decide to take over the Patriots as a Franchise project in Madden 26, you certainly have your work cut out for you. Allow us to take the reins and provide some guidance for how to build New England into a perennial contender.
Setting The New England Patriots Up For Success In Madden 26
As you have to do with any Franchise in Madden 26, let’s take stock of the Patriots’ current situation heading into the 2026 offseason. At the time of writing, the team is projected to have around $43 million in cap space, which takes into account the current roster and free agents, but doesn’t take into account possible contract extensions.
That $43 million ranks near the top 10 for NFL teams with the most cap space, so there’s certainly plenty of money to work with. However, you want to factor in possible extensions and player releases, which will likely result in giving the Patriots more cap space heading into free agency.
Filling Defensive Holes
Speaking of extensions, the first task on your to-do list as the GM of the Patriots is to extend cornerback Christian Gonzalez. “Gonzo” truly proved that he’s a top-three cornerback in the NFL during the Super Bowl, completely blanketing Jaxon Smith-Njiba, the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year. The Oregon product is heading into the final year of his rookie contract that he signed in 2023, and he’s absolutely played well enough to be the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. Something in the range of four years, $100 million plus will likely be the number Gonzalez agrees to in real life unless he takes a steep hometown discount or doesn’t end up working things out with New England’s front office.
If you can manage to get Gonzalez locked up for the future, there’s only one other major job to take care of on the defensive side of the ball: acquire a true number one edge rusher. While the Patriots have arguably the best defensive tackle combination in the NFL with Milton Williams and Christian Barmore, outside pressure on the quarterback is something New England has lacked since the days of Matt Judon.
Fortunately, there looks to be a disgruntled All-Pro edge rusher on the market that you could acquire. Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders is an easy trade candidate in Madden 26, as he’s an older veteran with two years left on his contract. It will take a few high draft picks and likely an established veteran player to get the Raiders to listen to a trade offer, but acquiring Crosby gives New England a top-five or three defense in the NFL.
As for the rest of the defense, signing a safety to pair with stud second year player Craig Woodson should be a priority, but you could simply re-sign Jaylinn Hawkins, who played terrific in his lone year with the Pats. You’ll also need to decide what to do about K’Lavon Chaisson, who could demand a hefty contract after putting up solid numbers in 2025. In our opinion, there are better and cheaper options than Chaisson, but he’s a decent linebacker nonetheless.
Giving Drake Maye Weapons And Protection
While the current trend is to call quarterback Drake Maye a “bust” due to his lackluster performance in the Super Bowl, not many quarterbacks in NFL history could have succeeded under the conditions Maye was put in. Sure, he missed some throws and made a few mistakes, but he was under pressure nearly every dropback, was sacked more times during the postseason than any other quarterback in history, and rarely had open receivers to throw to.
Let’s address the most common problem seen throughout New England’s 2025 season: protection up front. Head coach Mike Vrabel has stated that rookie left tackle Will Campbell won’t be moving positions next season, so we’ll follow along with that. If Campbell stays at left tackle, the best way to help fix the offensive line is release center Garrett Bradbury and move rookie left guard Jared Wilson to center, which is his natural position.
From there, the right side of the offensive line is shored up, with Morgan Moses and Mike Onwenu playing solid for most of the season. The glaring spot we need to address is at left guard, and our solution is to sign Alijah Vera-Tucker away from the New York Jets. Vera-Tucker has played at right guard for most of his career, but he has experience at left guard. The Jets could theoretically place the franchise tag on the lineman, but that seems unlikely due to his injury history. Of course, it’s also a risk to sign Vera-Tucker for that same reason, but there aren’t a ton of other options out there. Besides, the reward potential of the signing outweighs the risk due to Vera-Tucker’s talent.
Moving on, we need to give Drake Maye more weapons. Our first decision is to let tight end Austin Hooper walk in free agency and sign David Njoku. Njoku just stated he won’t play for the Cleveland Browns again, and he’s the perfect fit for Josh McDaniels’ offense. He also has experience with Mike Vrabel due to Vrabel’s consulting job with Cleveland in 2024. With Hunter Henry and David Njoku in the tight end room, McDaniels should be able to get both of them open in space.
However, that all relies on wide receivers creating enough separation to draw attention to them. Right now, the Patriots’ wide receiver room has too many number two/three guys. Yes, Stefon Diggs crossed 1,000 yards in 2025, and Kayshon Boutte looks like a legitimate deep ball threat, but New England needs a true number one guy that will get 10+ targets a game.
Enter A.J. Brown. Brown has seemingly wanted to play for the Patriots since coming out of Ole Miss in 2019, as he was a fan of the team growing up. However, Bill Belichick drafted N’Keal Harry over him, a decision that haunts New England fans to this day. But guess who did draft A.J. Brown? Mike Vrabel.
It remains to be seen whether the Philadelphia Eagles will let Brown go in real life, but in Madden 26, you should be able to get him for some draft picks and perhaps a young player, such as receivers Kyle Williams or DeMario Douglas. You’ll pay a hefty price, but seeing Drake Maye throw to A.J. Brown is worth pretty much anything.
And with that, you’ll easily make the New England legitimate Super Bowl contenders once again in 2026, even with a harder schedule. You have All-Pro players all over the place and a young core in place that sets the Pats up for years to come.
