There hasn’t been much to report out of New England this NFL offseason.
The Patriots’ past month-plus has been highlighted by subtractions. New England lost a pair of marquee free agents to lucrative new deals and also was forced to watch Rob Gronkowski ride off into the sunset.
Still, the Pats are the reigning Super Bowl champions and we’re still weeks away from the NFL draft. With this in mind, ESPN tabs New England with a high billing in its post-free agency power rankings, as Tom Brady and Co. come in at No. 3.
“Rob Gronkowski’s retirement leaves a gaping void on the field and in the locker room, where his upbeat approach resonated to all corners,” Mike Reiss wrote. “Meanwhile, DE Trey Flowers and OT Trent Brown were big free-agent losses, and the Patriots couldn’t close the deal on several of their top free-agent pursuits, which included WR Adam Humphries (Titans) and TE Jared Cook (Saints). Coach Bill Belichick often points out that there are no games played in March, which is a good thing, because the Patriots have absorbed more significant personnel losses than gains.”
For what it’s worth, New England is the highest-ranked AFC team, as the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams garnered the top two spots, respectively. The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers round out the top five.
While the Patriots were eerily quiet during free agency, it’s doubtful that will be the case come this spring’s draft. New England owns 12 (!) total picks, with its first six coming within the first 101 selections. If not for loading up on young talent, you never can rule Bill Belichick out of making a draft-day trade.
All things considered, New England probably should be high on all power rankings until actual football begins to be played. A lot likely is going to change between now and September.
