The New England Patriots were one of the best teams in the league last year, winning 14 games and making it all the way to the Super Bowl before losing to the Seahawks. The question this year is whether or not they will be able to replicate the success or do better. This is the full season preview for the Drake Maye and the Patriots.
Chapter 1:The Record
The Patriots won 14 games last year which most likely will not be replicated. However, they added AJ Brown and some solid pieces to the defense which should allow them to play better. Despite the additions they most likely will lose more games due to the more difficult schedule. My projection last year was 10 wins and getting knocked out in the divisional round, so this year I’ll aim higher. I expect the Patriots to win 12 games and make it to the divisional round.
Chapter 2:The Storylines
We have a few big storylines so far that are already heating up. The two major ones are the Christian Gonzalez contract and the major addition of AJ Brown. Gonzo will most likely be signing an extension by the start of the season knowing that Witherspoon has already signed one. It is expected that he will get more than Witherspoon. The other storyline, AJ Brown, will play out through the season. Adding Brown gives Maye an elite weapon that he lacked last year, having him will help tremendously in taking off the pressure and allowing Maye to be even better than he was last year.
Chapter 3:The Key Players
The Pats have 5 key players who will make or break the season. The 5 are Drake Maye, AJ Brown, Christian Gonzalez, Milton Williams, and Will Campbell. Drake Maye has to prove himself as one of the best quarterbacks now that he has shown enough flashes, this is his year to prove himself. Brown needs to show that he can adapt to not getting half of the targets and being in a spread out offense instead of a 3 man show. Gonzo needs to prove that he is worth the pay day he’s gonna get and that he can lead the defense like he did last year. Milton needs to show that he can be the force that he was before the injury and that him and Barmore can anchor the D-line. And lastly, Will Campbell has the most to prove. After a disappointing performance on the biggest stage he needs to put in the work to show that he is still the guy who was supposed to be picked 4th overall. If all of these guys prove what they need to prove then the Patriots will be a powerhouse.
Chapter 4:Stat Predictions
The Pats key players will all have to prove themselves with stats, mainly the first 4. My projected stat line for Maye is 4154 yards, 39 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, and a 69% completion rate. My projected stats for Brown are 89 catches for 1289 yards and 11 touchdowns. For Gonzalez I have 81 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 12 passes defended. And lastly for Milton I have 49 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and 12 stuffs. That is the baseline goal that all of the guys should be able to hit assuming they stay healthy.
Chapter 5:Final Thoughts
The only thing that I could see really throwing the Patriots way off the path is if Maye gets injured. He did have an injury near the end of the playoffs that he played through and we don’t know what the real severity of it was. If it was something lingering then Maye could struggle to get back to where he was last year. Besides the injury concern the next worst thing I see is locker room issues with Brown demanding more targets, but I don’t expect to see that with him being back under Vrabel.
The Patriots are going to be one of the most interesting teams in the league this year. They have potential to win the Super Bowl if they can build off of last year. No one will have them figured out until midseason when we see how they mesh.
What are your thoughts on the Patriots this year? Please like 👍, flame 🔥, and comment 💬!