In the 22nd of a 32-part series, we are featuring all National Football League teams with a prediction of where each team will finish within their division, key off-season acquisitions and their top fantasy stars. Here are the New England Patriots.
Key Off Season Acquisitions
The Patriots have seven new notable players they acquired in the offseason. They are wide receivers Romeo Doubs of Los Angeles, California, and A.J. Brown of Starkville, Mississippi, guard Alijah Vera-Tucker of Oakland, California, linebacker Dre’mont Jones of Cleveland, Ohio, tight end Julian Hill of Fayetteville, North Carolina, safety Kevin Byard of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and defensive back Jaylen Reed of Detroit, Michigan.
Doubs signed a four-year contract worth $80 million with the Patriots on March 12 after four seasons with the Green Bay Packers. In 2025, he had 55 catches for 724 receiving yards and six touchdown catches.
Vera-Tucker signed a three-year contract worth $42 million on March 12. He spent the last four seasons with the New York Jets.
Jones signed a three-year deal worth $39 million on March 12. He is joining his fifth NFL franchise after four seasons with the Denver Broncos (2019 to 2022), two seasons with the Seattle Seahawks (2023 to 2024), and the 2025 season where he played with the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens. This past season, Jones had 43 combined tackles (19 solo tackles and 24 assisted tackles), seven tackles for a loss, 24 quarterback hits, one pass deflection and two fumble recoveries for two yards. The pass deflection came in a 23-10 Ravens win over the New York Jets on November 23.
Byard signed a one-year contract worth $7 million on March 11. He is joining his fourth NFL franchise after eight seasons with the Tennessee Titans (2016 to 2023), one season with the Philadelphia Eagles (2023) and two seasons with the Chicago Bears (2024 and 2025). This past season in Chicago, Byard led the NFL with seven interceptions. He also had 93 combined tackles (61 solo tackles and 32 assisted tackles), four tackles for a loss, 91 yards off of interceptions, and eight pass deflections. In 2025, Byard led the NFL in interceptions for the second time in his career. The three-time Pro Bowler had eight interceptions with the Titans in 2017.
Hill signed a three-year contract worth $15 million on March 11. He played the last three seasons with the Miami Dolphins. In 2026, he had 15 catches for 140 receiving yards.
Brown was traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Patriots for a first round pick in 2028 and a fifth round pick in 2027 on June 1. He is joining his third National Football League franchise. He previously played three seasons with the Tennessee Titans from 2019 to 2021, and the last four seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. In 2025 with the Eagles, Brown had 78 catches for 1003 receiving yards and seven touchdown catches.
Reed was traded from the Houston Texans to the Patriots with a seventh round pick in the 2028 National Football League Draft for wide receiver Kayshon Boutte on August 24. He had 14 combined tackles (nine solo tackles and five assisted tackles), and one fumble recovery for nine yards. The fumble recovery came in a 23-19 Texans win over the Buffalo Bills on November 20.
Fantasy Stars
Drake Maye of Huntersville, North Carolina is the third ranked quarterback in fantasy. In 2026, he led the NFL with a 72% completion percentage and a 113.5 quarterback rating. Maye completed 354 of 492 passes for 4394 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He also had 103 rushes for 450 rushing yards and four touchdown runs.
Brown is 10th among wide receivers. The Patriots have the seventh ranked defense. Their formidable defense contributed to their +170 in 2025, the best plus/minus in the AFC.
Projected Finish
There is a significant gap between the top two teams in the AFC East and the bottom two teams. The Patriots will battle the Buffalo Bills for first place, but I still like the Bills by a little bit.
