With the New England Patriots having finished up their mandatory minicamp last week, it was the first glimpse of what will hopefully be a competitive group again in 2026.
Coming off a Super Bowl run in 2025, the Patriots find themselves with a revamped roster and a more challenging schedule. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the things we learned, along with some questions that still need to be answered:
Offensive Line Questions
Patriots Being Cautious with Moses
Veteran Morgan Moses was a spectator during last week’s sessions, with Mike Vrabel admitting that managing the 35-year-old’s reps in the spring played a role.
“Yeah, it was just managing Morgan and excited that he’s so committed to our football team and the people here,” said Vrabel last week. “Just a positive addition last year, and he’ll have a plan through training camp.”
“It’s a long season. He was important to us. He’ll be very important to us going forward. So just trying to make sure that we manage him and figure every rep now is probably one less that he may take in the season. So, want to try to get him to a point where he’s ready to go. Give each guy exactly what they need, and everybody will have a plan.”
Moses appeared in every game last season, and the Patriots are clearly looking toward the future with rookie Caleb Lomu set to eventually step into that role. Lomu saw time at right tackle in Moses’ absence, as well as taking some snaps at left guard. Dametrious Crownover and Marcus Bryant also each reportedly got some work in at right tackle.
Depth Remains a Focus
Whether or not Moses makes it through another full season is a big question, but the Patriots do have some depth with Lomu, Crownover, and Bryant potentially as options. Still, after losing Vederian Lowe to free agency this offseason, the Patriots don’t have an established player backing up Will Campbell or Moses at tackle in 2026. That certainly adds a layer of uncertainty to that group that they’ll need to figure out.
The other question is going to be with whether Alijah Vera-Tucker can make it through a full season at left guard. The veteran free agent was limited in minicamp as the club takes things slow with him, but he seemed upbeat and the expectation is that he’ll be the favorite to start there this season.
Still, the Patriots already seem to be creating a contingency there. Caedan Wallace and Ben Brown also saw time at that spot, with Brown and Andrew Rupcich also getting some work at center behind Jared Wilson.
On paper, if everyone is healthy, it’s a solid line-up, and a tougher one than a year ago. The combination of both Campbell and Vera-Tucker on the left is certainly formidable, while Mike Onwenu and Moses on the right solidifies that side.
The key question is whether or not Wilson can perform at center – his natural position at Georgia – as well as he did in college. He earned second-team All-SEC honors following his 2024 performance, and ultimately won the job at left guard as a rookie for the Patriots last preseason.
Overall, New England has made some wise moves building a foundation in front of Drake Maye. The hope now is that it translates into an even better group in 2026.
Linebacker Questions
One of the biggest stories of the offseason was the fact that Vrabel and the staff clearly came out of 2025 feeling that the linebacker group wasn’t good enough.
As a result, plenty of changes were made. New England released veterans Jahlani Tavai, Marte Mapu, and Anfernee Jennings. They also opted not to re-sign K’Lavon Chaisson and didn’t tender Jack Gibbens.
Just like that, five guys who saw a fair number of snaps last season were gone.
Instead they went out and signed Jesse Luketa and K.J. Britt, along with edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones. They also drafted Gabe Jacas (Round 2, 55th overall) and Namdi Obiazor (Round 6, 212th overall), along with edge rusher Quintayvious Hutchins (Round 7, 247th overall).
Jacas remains the biggest question mark ahead of training camp. He’s missed time throughout the spring and remains unsigned as the only second-round player in the league not under contract.
Jacas Situation In Focus
ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported on Sunday that while Jacas has been medically cleared, he’s dealing with a labral tear and a stress fracture in his foot, which “could potentially worsen over time.” He also reportedly underwent a knee procedure that was described as a “clean up.”
One thing that stood out last week was that Vrabel was protective of Jacas, refusing to talk about his situation while adding, “I don’t think that’s fair to anybody,” when it came to Jacas being behind. That comment jumped out as the first hint that there might be more to the story, which Reiss more or less confirmed on Sunday.
Vrabel obviously is aware of Jacas’ health status, and having been a former player, he gets both sides of things. Which is why when it comes to making a judgement about an injured player, Vrabel clearly understands why a situation like his is so complicated.
While the two sides seem to be at odds with his contract, which includes Jacas not being given a standard “participation agreement,” a lot can change between now and the start of camp.
Best case scenario would be for Jacas to sign and then hopefully start establishing a path toward being ready to play at some point in 2026.
Patriots Need a Lot to Go Right
Meanwhile, Robert Spillane will likely remain a key to that group this year, and they seem to be banking on Harold Landry getting healthy and picking up where he left off last season before his injury. Bradyn Swinson and Elijah Ponder have also drawn praise, with Jones expected to be an impact player on their defense.
But so far, Vrabel and his staff have shown that if they feel a group isn’t good enough, they’re not afraid to make significant changes. However, it also feels like quite a bit needs to go right for a group that will be critical to their success in the coming months.
Vrabel sounded confident in that group as a whole last week.
“That’s a good group,” said Vrabel. “I’m glad – I’m excited about adding Dre [Dre’Mont Jones], the development of [Elijah] Ponder and [Bradyn] Swinson, added [Jesse] Luketa and some young guys.”
“I mean, again, we’ll continue to try to look at every position and make it stronger, but that group has done a nice job. And, again, we’ll continue to look at it, but, we’ll have to see where we’re at from a numbers-wise. And then when we get into training camp, but, just how many guys you can rep, based on the practices.”
It’s a good group, but health will be a big factor. As we saw last season, losing Landry made things tough and losing Spillane completely changed the tone of their defense. Hopefully, both can make it through 2026 healthy after a physical 2025 campaign.
Receiver Position Has Significant Questions
Obviously A.J. Brown will be the focal point of the offense, with Romeo Doubs being another key target. After that, the question then becomes how things will unfold around them. Veteran Mack Hollins was busy last week, as was Demario Douglas. Kayshon Boutte, who has been the topic of trade rumors, was on hand for last week’s mandatory session and looked solid. The biggest question is whether or not the club will look to move him, or simply let him play out the final year of his rookie contract.
Meanwhile, Kyle Williams was one of the more talked about players of the offseason, drawing praise from both Vrabel and Eliot Wolf at various points. Both talked about him getting stronger and Williams admitted he added some weight this offseason, with receivers coach Todd Downing using the word “sturdier” last week when describing his play. The hope overall was that Williams will take a step forward this year, which includes being better with the way he handles physical defensive backs.
As we’ve seen, when he breaks open, he’s a dangerous player and the goal would be for he and Drake Maye to connect on more of those plays in 2026.
Efton Chism also flashed at various points last week, but it’s a deep group and it should certainly be a competitive one.
“Well, I mean, it’s always being ready for your opportunity,” said Vrabel last week. “But again, watching and seeing Kyle [William]’s development and Chiz [Efton Chism] taking advantage of his opportunities. And that’s just one position, then being able to add the guys that we did in the post-draft.”
“When we have those different periods and they get extra reps that they have to take advantage of them. When you do a good job and a nice job, you get more opportunity. The more positions that you know, I think certainly would help them. And if they don’t, then they just have to learn the ones that they can. But you just never know in a preseason game or a practice or a scrimmage when that opportunity is going to come. Just like Chiz, maybe last year in some of those preseason games, and what he was able to do. So we try to give them the blueprint and then they can make what they can.”
Patriots are Limited at Tight End
One other position that has some big questions is at tight end. The club came into this spring with high hopes for tight end Julian Hill, who was expected to be a big part of their passing game with Hunter Henry. Instead, Hill suffered a season-ending knee injury, leaving the club now to put more of the focus on rookie Eli Raridon.
Vrabel acknowledged this week that it’s an area they’ll have to continue to evaluate.
“Yeah, I think that’s— just from a numbers standpoint in camp, I think that’s somewhere we’ll probably have to evaluate the numbers,” said Vrabel. “There’s 90 guys, 91 guys on every team. So we’ll just have to take a look at that. But I would say that that’s probably somewhere where we would have to address.”
Reiss suggested this weekend that other possible candidates could include free agents, Will Dissly, Nick Vannett, or potentially former Patriot, Pharaoh Brown. But they’re definitely heading into training camp short-handed given where things stand currently.
Bigger Role For Maye Coming in 2026
One of the other big stories from last week was the fact that the club is putting more on Drake Maye’s shoulders this season.
The third-year quarterback found himself tested quite a bit last week, with the coaching staff putting Maye in situations where coming up with the play call at the line is something they’re giving him more freedom with. The hope is that they can exploit the hurry-up offense, allowing Maye to run things based on what he’s seeing from the defense.
By all accounts, Maye passed those tests this week, with Maye drawing a lot of praise from offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
“The quarterback at the line of scrimmage, you can do two things. You can tell them that they don’t have much freedom and responsibility, and just tell them to snap the football and hope for the best, and try to execute as best they can,” explained McDaniels. “Or you can, if they’re capable and able and willing and want to and can do it at a high level, you can give them some tools for them to try to use to help us in every way, whether that’s get out of a bad one, run a good one, whatever. And I think Drake’s clearly capable of helping the football team in multiple situations like that.”
“I think he’s definitely making progress in that area. I think his overall command and leadership in general is taking a big step forward. Really, really happy with his progress in that regard.”
Maye’s Recall and Ability to Think Ahead “A Benefit”
McDaniels admitted that Maye’s memory has impressed him, which he says makes it so easy going into game day because it’s a key reason why his level of preparation is just so good.
“Nothing surprises me with him anymore because he’s— that’s kind of how it’s been since I’ve met him. He’s got great recall. He, some of us, I don’t know how many in this gaggle of people, may or may not have to take a bunch of notes in college or as we were learning. I don’t know how many notes he has to take. He’s a processor while you’re talking about it. You know what I mean? He does, he takes notes, but he processes through the conversation and he can see the game as you’re talking about it, which is cool because what everybody, there’s this part, but there’s also that part on game day where we can’t go into the meeting room, watch the film, put it on a whiteboard.”
“It’s verbal, it’s all verbal, other than maybe seeing a little something on the tablet. So it gives you an opportunity to make some quick adjustments and corrections, but his memory is really good.”
The other part of what makes him so good is his ability to always be thinking ahead, which also impressed McDaniels. It allows them both to be ready for whatever potential situations they might face, and it’s another attribute that he said makes Maye so good.
“Yeah, it’s a benefit,” said McDaniels. “Because I think part of our game, whether we like it or not, is sometimes it’s the hardest part for us, is you put a game plan together or you’re doing something, but you have to see some of the obstacles that aren’t necessarily right in front of you. In order to do that, you’ve got to think a couple steps ahead. So, yeah, he’s still a young player, but I’d say he’s, really at an accelerated rate when it comes to his processing.”
After being tested, Maye looked sharp and definitely seemed to have the right answers last week. Let’s hope the Patriots come up with some additional ones of their own as they continue building the group he’ll be going to battle with heading into this season.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
