My own personal Pats free agent signings grades

jdlboot14 · Mar 29, 2026

Chaisson is getting the "ex-girlfriend" treatment - we remember him a lot better than he was - because of 2 things:
1. he was the only hint of a pass rusher we've had here for 3+ years, the best loser doesn't make you good.
2. he had a few big plays in big moments, but the vast majority of his games/reps were inconsequential.

The first half of the season I was constantly frustrated with him for over-pursuing and missing the QB or RB running right by him. I nicknamed him "Chasing Chaisson" - because he always missed the tackle and was more noticed by his 2nd effort running hard after guys - - because he missed them the first time!

He improved over the season due to coaching and scheme, but if the staff thought he was that good, they would have paid him to stay - - rather than sign a 3-year older DE for more money yearly than Chaisson got!

jdlboot14 · Mar 29, 2026

Worthless FA signings:
KJ Britt, Mike Brown, Kindle Vildor, Niko Lalos

Potential Backup FA signings:
Julian Hill - better blocker, more versatile than Hooper, not as good as a receiver... yet.
James Hudson - physical & tenacious, could replace Lowe if coaching fixes his brain
Jesse Luketa - more athletic Jennings, could be bench depth/special teams

Likely Starter FA signings:
Alijah Vera Tucker - above average LG if healthy (big IF)
Dremont Jones - upgrade over Landry, durable and well-rounded edge-setter
Kevin Byard - yes old, but in the class of Harrison & DMC as a playmaker & field captain
Romeo Doubs - he will surprise everyone. like a combo of Meyers & Diggs
Reggie Gilliam - he's a Fullback. period.

jdlboot14 · Mar 29, 2026

FA losses & replacements:

Tonga - on the team. Farmer & Taylor will replace
Hawkins - on the team. Byard, *Saunders & Pettus will replace. (*dark horse to become a dude)

Chaisson - not on the team. Jones replaces Landry. Need to draft EDGE1 in 1st round.
Hooper - not on the team. Hill is a 3rd. Need to draft a future TE1 in 2nd/3rd round.
Gibbens - not on the team. Muma, Mapu, Britt will not cut it. Need a legit ILB3 (draft or cutdowns)

n1997y · Mar 29, 2026

Real fan 02 said:
I'd had like to retain Chaisson.. not sure what happened when he and the the team both wanted a deal to work out.. especially with the uncertainty of Landy..

Really hoping we can get hit on at least 2 edge rushers in the draft..

$$$$$ is what happened. Or didn’t happen.

Chaisson was due for a big raise. He outperformed his contract by a lot. Before free agency optimistic predictions had him getting in the range of $15 to $17 million aav. More realistic estimates (Reiss, Spotrac) were $9 to $11.

He signed a one year deal for a reported $12 million (or $11, plus incentives). Looks like he wanted the big money and thinks he’s worth it, so he was willing to take another one year deal betting on himself to continue to ascend. Pats probably offered him some security with a multi year deal for less, and there’s no telling how much less.

They both wanted a deal to work out, but it was a different deal that would’ve worked for each of them.

Real fan 02 · Mar 29, 2026

n1997y said:
$$$$$ is what happened. Or didn’t happen.

Chaisson was due for a big raise. He outperformed his contract by a lot. Before free agency optimistic predictions had him getting in the range of $15 to $17 million aav. More realistic estimates (Reiss, Spotrac) were $9 to $11.

He signed a one year deal for a reported $12 million (or $11, plus incentives).

Agreed. I always figured he was in 9-11 $$$ range anyway.. but edges got paid this offseason.. guys like mafe, ohweh heavily benefited from having othe guys along the front with their teams.. Chaisson didn't.. surprised he didn't take a long-term deal somewhere..

However on the flipside it's still just a one year deal.. the could have gotten that here? I mean it's not like he had a bevy of edges on the team ahead of him.. still pretty odd he didn't remain.. he's probably the only one I'd wish we retained..

As much as I liked Diggs the risk/reward just wasn't worth it.. bringing in doubs was the right move. Still of course much more work to do..

40yrpatsfan · Mar 29, 2026

hornetfb85 said:
Byard > Hawkins
Vera Tucker/Wilson > Wilson/Bradbury
Jones > Chaisson
Hill > Hooper
Gilliam >>>Westover
Doubs and Diggs is tougher, except Doubs is much younger so giving him the edge.

Good offseason. Upgrades to a Super Bowl team.

Agree with all this, though I think Doubs is better than Diggs at this point. Better size, similar separation. Younger, no off-field drama. I did like Diggs' leadership but we won't need that as much this year.

n1997y · Mar 29, 2026

Good summaries, thanks @jdlboot14. I don’t agree on a couple of points, discussed below.

jdlboot14 said:
FA losses & replacements:

Tonga - on the team. Farmer & Taylor will replace
Hawkins - on the team. Byard, *Saunders & Pettus will replace. (*dark horse to become a dude)

Chaisson - not on the team. Jones replaces Landry. Need to draft EDGE1 in 1st round.
Hooper - not on the team. Hill is a 3rd. Need to draft a future TE1 in 2nd/3rd round.
Gibbens - not on the team. Muma, Mapu, Britt will not cut it. Need a legit ILB3 (draft or cutdowns)

Chaisson may be replaced at least in part by guys already on the team, especially Ponder and Swinson stepping up.

Hill may turn out to have upside well beyond just TE3, especially if Josh goes to a run heavy offense valuing a blocking TE highly. That seems likely to me, and I think if that results in lots of playing time for Hill we may discover two things: 1) he can catch, and 2) he’s our TE1 based on playing time.

jdlboot14 said:
Worthless FA signings:
KJ Britt, Mike Brown, Kindle Vildor, Niko Lalos

Vildor will have value in improving CB depth.

jdlboot14 said:
Potential Backup FA signings:
Julian Hill - better blocker, more versatile than Hooper, not as good as a receiver... yet.
James Hudson - physical & tenacious, could replace Lowe if coaching fixes his brain
Jesse Luketa - more athletic Jennings, could be bench depth/special teams

I made my prediction about Hill above. Agree with you about all three of your comments, especially his receiving, and to me that adds up to better than backup status as TE3.

jdlboot14 said:
Likely Starter FA signings:
Alijah Vera Tucker - above average LG if healthy (big IF)
Dremont Jones - upgrade over Landry, durable and well-rounded edge-setter
Kevin Byard - yes old, but in the class of Harrison & DMC as a playmaker & field captain
Romeo Doubs - he will surprise everyone. like a combo of Meyers & Diggs
Reggie Gilliam - he's a Fullback. period.

For Byard I’m hoping Harrison is a perfect comp. Hope Kevin has as long and productive a tenure here as Rodney did.

I think Doubs will turn out better than the naysayers are predicting, and he’s younger and healthier than Diggs. Still ascending.

Gilliam may be a bit more than just the quintessential fullback, iirc he can catch too. I think he’ll be a big asset, together with Hill I expect Josh will show a run first offense with a lot of passing options. It’s going to be fun to watch the offense this year. Last year the defense was the foundation, this year the offense may elevate to the same level. I’m even coming around to drafting some road graders for the OL ahead of edge this year.

Wozzy · Mar 29, 2026

jdlboot14 said:
Chaisson is getting the "ex-girlfriend" treatment - we remember him a lot better than he was - because of 2 things:
1. he was the only hint of a pass rusher we've had here for 3+ years, the best loser doesn't make you good.
2. he had a few big plays in big moments, but the vast majority of his games/reps were inconsequential.

The first half of the season I was constantly frustrated with him for over-pursuing and missing the QB or RB running right by him. I nicknamed him "Chasing Chaisson" - because he always missed the tackle and was more noticed by his 2nd effort running hard after guys - - because he missed them the first time!

He improved over the season due to coaching and scheme, but if the staff thought he was that good, they would have paid him to stay - - rather than sign a 3-year older DE for more money yearly than Chaisson got!

I agree with Chaisson being somewhat overrated here, he also wasn’t what I’d call a run force. He often overran run plays or got beat in contain, which is why they’d often rotate Jennings in on obvious run downs.

Harold Landry is a complete player, great at the run, led this team in sacks and was averaging roughly a sack a game until he got hurt. He’ll be back from surgery. His position might not need a full year to recover from a knee.

Ponder needs to get stronger, but he has all the tools and athleticism you want. Hopefully he’s in the weight room with Landry pressing iron. They can add more middle to late round and UDFA OLB’s to join Swinson in camp competition.

Dremont Jones adds another DE/DT tweener to spell Milton Williams and pair with him to provide pressure.

Wozzy · Mar 29, 2026

If the season started today the Pats, assuming health, would win the AFCEast again. The handwringing here really doesn’t reflect reality. I’m excited for the draft and to watch this team round into shape.

dliverey44 · Mar 29, 2026

Ross12 said:
Why would we hand out offseason grades two weeks into the new league year? I didn't know the offseason was only two weeks long.

Especially without watching them play in this system. After Tonga was signed, the commentary was the same about him being a camp body and was a lackluster signing. Then the season started and Tonga carved out a role and performed well in that role. Its impossible to say oh last year he did this, so that is all we are getting this year.

I keep seeing that Doubs has never had XX catches and XX yards so he not an upgrade, Just not an accurate way to look at imo. I believe that if the WR core doesn't significantly change (no Brown or trade for another guy) Doubs will end up with over 1K yards(only 60 yards a a game avg).

Sect140 · Mar 29, 2026

Grogan14 said:
I know everyone will hate this but I am posting it anyway;

Overall pretty uninspiring group to date. Have they bettered the team yet...absoluely not, they are treading water or sinking.

Picking at 31 and at bottom of each round with Elliot Wolf in charge...do not expect any game changers.
Eagles are not trading AJ Brown even after June 1, for price patriots are willing to pay
They will not win double digit games this year.

KJ Britt- C- ...not even a JAG
Mike Brown- C-/D+ Vrabel loves to sign his old JAG buddies from tennesee
Kevin Byard- B, he is an old man but maybe they can squeeze one more solid year out of him, another Vrabel buddy from Titans
Romeo Doubs- B, definitely has upside but he is not an X receiver they need desperately, Diggs is still better
Reggie Gilliam- A-, best signing to date, they need solid backfield blockers desperately
Julian Hill B- wants to be best TE blocker in NFL at 245 pounds, I doubt it
James Hudson F WTF, bottom of the barrel
Dremont Jones B+ solid signing, good player,
Niko Lalos F definition of disposable camp body
Jesse Luketa C- nothing to write home about
Alijah Vera Tucker C+ injury waiting to happen
Kindle Vildor C another Vrabel Titans buddy....he is a mediocre JAG

Meaningful losses in FA

Chaisson, Lowe as backup T, Tavai and Tonga, Diggs

Sam you keep stating in threads that Eliot Wolfe is in charge of picking players, go back and watch episode 1 of Forged in Foxboro and you will finally realize he isn’t.

Grogan14 · Mar 29, 2026

I get it. Its very early to hand out grades...yada yada yada BUT

It's just something fun to do on a message board when nothing else is happening.

Whether its Vrabel, Wolf or someone else.I do not care...it was mediocre at best

Have been hoping for years to see some elite playmakers on this team....and it's not Doubs, Vera Tucker or Hudson

Ring 6 · Mar 29, 2026

Grogan14 said:
I get it. Its very early to hand out grades...yada yada yada BUT

It's just something fun to do on a message board when nothing else is happening.

Whether its Vrabel, Wolf or someone else.I do not care...it was mediocre at best

Have been hoping for years to see some elite playmakers on this team....and it's not Doubs, Vera Tucker or Hudson

Do you believe that I should value your opinion over the guy who came in and took a 4-13 team to the SB in one year?
Do you think I should think Vrabel doesn’t know what he’s doing because you would do something different?

EDIT: Oh snap, I just realized who you are. You are the guy who choose the stakes in a bet, and loses. Then refuses to honor the bet, making up excuses to delay paying up. Then outright refuses to honor what he committed to. Weaker of the weak. It’s going to be fun tormenting you.

One-If-By-Sea · Mar 29, 2026

jdlboot14 said:
FA losses & replacements:

Tonga - on the team. Farmer & Taylor will replace
Hawkins - on the team. Byard, *Saunders & Pettus will replace. (*dark horse to become a dude)

Chaisson - not on the team. Jones replaces Landry. Need to draft EDGE1 in 1st round.
Hooper - not on the team. Hill is a 3rd. Need to draft a future TE1 in 2nd/3rd round.
Gibbens - not on the team. Muma, Mapu, Britt will not cut it. Need a legit ILB3 (draft or cutdowns)

Tonga - I think they will use one of the 11 draft picks on a fatty to replace Tonga - R5/R6?
Hawkins - Again Byard is only for 1 year because they plan to draft someone - one of the two picks in R4 is my guess

Chaisson - Yes R1 or R2 & a veteran FA if Landry is not OK.
Hooper - Yes we could use a TE in the draft - R3 is my guess
Gibbens - Yes we need to draft a guy - I think the pick has to be a coverage LB, sideline-to-sideline guy. I doubt they draft a stud - I am guessing it is a Day 3 double dip for two lighter, faster guys.

I struggle to find the draft position where we will find WR1. Plenty of room in R5/R6 to draft a slot guy, but with EDGE, OT, TE, in R1 to R3, it is tough to find a WR1 in R4 and beyond. Maybe a LB in R4 with a FS, and we are looking for WR1 next year. Hopefully the TE and Slot are much stronger this year.

patman12 · Mar 29, 2026

The grades should be revisited at the end of the season to see how close/far off they were.

palialka · Mar 30, 2026

I’m a little late to this thread but…

How do we assign grades and judge a FA class that is still ongoing and they haven’t even played a snap of the 2026 season yet?

What’s the point? This is as useless as it gets.

One-If-By-Sea · Mar 30, 2026

palialka said:
What’s the point? This is as useless as it gets.

"as useless as it gets"? You must be new around here. LOL

Real fan 02 · Mar 30, 2026

Grogan14 said:
I get it. Its very early to hand out grades...yada yada yada BUT

It's just something fun to do on a message board when nothing else is happening.

Whether its Vrabel, Wolf or someone else.I do not care...it was mediocre at best

Have been hoping for years to see some elite playmakers on this team....and it's not Doubs, Vera Tucker or Hudson

The Seahawks for example won it all.. they allowed thier best player Kenneth walker to leave in FA and over paid a STs player in FA... Rashid shaheed.. did they have a mediocre off season? Or just the Patriots in your own mind?

PatsFanInVa · Mar 30, 2026

I mean, now that we're pulling that thread, we always say every team is getting better so you have to run as fast as you can just to keep up, but barring draft choices, how can every team be getting better with nobody getting worse? That's some Lake Woebegone **** right there.

Triumph · Mar 30, 2026

Wozzy said:
If the season started today the Pats, assuming health, would win the AFCEast again. The handwringing here really doesn’t reflect reality. I’m excited for the draft and to watch this team round into shape.

What a joke.

AFCE Champs again? At least 50% of the Pats 2026 opponents are Super Bowl contenders - Buffalo, Chicago, Green Bay, Detroit , Denver, Kansas City, Jacksonville, Seattle. The Patriots have not signed anyone of significance and they pick in a low draft slot.

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