Although we are still months away from football roster construction for the 2023 season still is moving steadily forward in the NFL. The New England Patriots have had key players leave Foxboro for other opportunities around the NFL but the Patriots wasted no time in filling their spots, especially on the offensive side of the ball. With the NFL draft and OTA’s right around the corner here is a look at the New England Patriots projected starters heading into the 2023 season. The depth chart order goes from left to right.

Offense

Quarterbacks

Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe, *Dorian Thompson-Robinson (6th Round)*

As we saw last season, the Patriots’ offense took a step back after Mac Jones’ rookie season. When Bailey Zappe started the Patriots went 2-0 and played well. After the week seven debacle with Mac Jones switching for Bailey Zappe mid-game, Zappe failed to play a snap for the rest of the season. Jones took back the starting position for the rest of the season and finished the season with a touchdown to interception ratio of 12:6.

Mac Jones

Patriots QB Mac Jones (10) – Billie Weiss/Getty Images

Jones will be starting under center next season as the Patriots must decide with him moving forward contractually. With new OC Bill O’Brien coming into Foxboro to try to pick up the pieces of a shattered Matt Patricia-led offense, the best option on the roster right now is Mac Jones.
Jones is also a little familiar with O’Brien as he was hired as Alabama’s OC right after the Crimson Tide won the College Football Playoff in January of 2021. O’Brien was key in helping Jones prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft, so there is some rapport there.

Dorian Thompson Robinson, out of UCLA, will be a late-round pick of the Patriots, hopefully. DTR was the quarterback for the West at the Shrine Bowl in February, which was coached by the Patriots’ staff. Patriots coaches and, more specifically, Patriots Director of Player Personnel Matt Groh fell in love with UCLA’s all-time passing touchdown leader. The Patriots could use either of their sixth-round picks for DTR.

Running Backs

Rhamondre Stevenson, James Robinson, Pierre Strong Jr., Kevin Harris

Last year we saw the true emergence of Rhamondre Stevenson after Damien Harris was out for most of the season. As the Patriots’ feature back, Stevenson rushed for over a thousand yards while leading the Patriots in receptions as well with 69. Stevenson will be heading into his third season in Foxboro and still has plenty to prove moving forward.

James Robinson will be a great complimentary back to Stevenson as he has a similar skill set but a much smaller frame. If there is one thing the Patriots historically love, it is shorter running backs who can catch the ball and make plays.

Wide Receivers

DeVante Parker, Juju Smith Schuster, Kendrick Bourne, Tyquan Thornton

As of now, these are the four receivers that the Patriots have on the roster who recorded a catch last year. DeVante Parker’s 17.4 yards per catch ranked second highest in the NFL last season, although he was plagued by injury. Thornton came on strong towards the end of his rookie season as well as Kendrick Bourne, whose playing time was quite inconsistent at the start of the season.

The big move here is Juju Smith Schuster, who was signed in lieu of keeping Jakobi Meyers. The Patriots decided to spend 33 million on Smith Shuster, which is the same amount that Meyers got from the Raiders. JSS has a proven track record of being a consistent receiver in the slot and is a slight upgrade over Meyers.

I would like the Patriots to take a flyer on one of four receivers with the number 14 pick. Quentin Johnston (TCU), Jaxon Smith-Njigba (OSU), Jordan Addison (USC), and Zay Flowers (BC). All these players fill different roles that the Patriots could use help with at the receiver position. Still, there is one thing they all have in common, they are all proven playmakers at the college level and are worthy of using a first-round pick on them if the Patriots choose to do so.

Tight End

Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki

The Patriots look to return their offense to where it was with Bill O’Brien his first time around when the Patriots dominated the NFL with their two tight ends. Although Henry and Gesicki are much different than Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, they are two of the best at the position right now; Henry has been nothing but consistent since joining the Patriots, while Gesicki was a solid contributor for the Dolphins when his number was called. With a team that looks to repair its fractured offense, these two will play massive roles in Bill O’Brien’s offense.

 

Offensive Line

Trent Brown/ *Draft*, Cole Strange, David Andrews, Michael Onwenu, Riley Reiff

The Patriots’ interior offensive line will likely remain the same as last year barring anything catastrophic. Andrews is the anchor of the line, continuing to help 2022 first-round pick Cole Strange develop. Strange had a solid rookie season after having some struggles early on. After his week nine benching, he only allowed one sack for the remainder of the year.

Michael Onwenu was one of the best linemen in football last year, being ranked the 19th best lineman and sixth best guard according to Pro Football Focus. Onwenu has progressed each season in his three-year career so far and the Patriots may have an All-Pro caliber lineman in Onwenu moving forward.

Patriots Offensive Line

Patriots offensive line – Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The tackles were the major issue for the Patriots last season as a revolving door of players as the Patriots had seven different starters at left tackles last year. Coming into 2023, the Patriots look too sure up that spot as they signed veteran journeyman Riley Reiff to a one-year deal.

Reiff played 542 snaps at right tackle last year in ten starts for the Bears. Reiff, if healthy, will surely up that right side of the line, but the main concern remains the left tackle spot.

Trent Brown is penciled in as the starter for now but he surely had his ups and downs last season. Brown led the Patriots in penalties and sacks allowed and at times, seemed a step slower than everyone he was attempting to block.

Brown, when right is a force but his poor performance last year makes me want the Patriots to take a tackle, depending on how the draft shapes out.

If the tackles are there in the first round, I would love to have that over a receiver because quarterback protection is the main focus moving into 2023. If Paris Johnson (OSU) or Peter Skoronski (NW) are there in the first round I would take them; if not you can hopefully get Darnell Wright from Tennessee in the second round.

Other linemen who could be mid-round selections could be North Dakota State’s Cody Mauch or Alabama’s Tyler Steen.

Defense

Defensive Line

Christian Barmore, Davon Godchaux, Carl Davis, Lawrence Guy, Daniel Ekuale

The interior defensive line likely looks to remain the same as last year, with all rotational players returning in 2023. Christian Barmore is the real difference-maker heading into 2023 if he remains healthy. He missed seven games in 2022 with a knee injury but when he did play, he was one of the best in the league at pressuring the opposing quarterback.

Looking at the last season, New England’s interior defensive line was one of the best in football, especially towards the end of the year. The rotation of five seasoned veterans really showed as they dominated games late in the year.

Edge Rushers

Deatrich Wise, Matthew Judon, Josh Uche

The Patriots’ edge rushers were arguably the best combination last year in the NFL. Judon was tied for third in the league with 15.5 sacks and was dominant down the stretch with 13 sacks in his final ten games. Uche came into his own as a pass rusher as well, finishing with 11.5 sacks after recording his first sack in week eight against the Jets. Deatrich Wise also was a force with 7.5 sacks and let all Patriots edge defenders with 59 tackles.

Judon and Uche are phenomenal edge rushers but Wise is truly the most integral part of the edge defense for the Patriots. He is an every-down type of player and has progressed each season since being drafted in 2017. These three, on the defensive side of the ball last year, set the tone for the rest of the defense and hopefully 2023 it is no different.

Linebackers

Ja’Whaun Bentley, Jahlani Tavai, Raekwon McMillan, Mack Wilson, Anfernee Jennings

Just like every other position group for the Patriots’ defense, the linebackers are so interchangeable. Ja’Whaun Bentley was the only linebacker to start all 17 games with Anfernee Jenning starting the next most with three. This can be a little deceiving because the Patriots tend to use their safety’s up in the box most games but based on total snaps, they all are key contributors.

Bentley is the leader of this linebacking core finishing with 80 tackles last year.

Cornerbacks

Jonathan Jones, Jack Jones, Marcus Jones, Myles Bryant

The Patriots’ cornerbacks were surprisingly one of the few bright spots in a dull Patriots season. After trading Stephon Gilmore the year before and losing JC Jackson in free agency, there were many question marks surrounding this cornerback group.

Jonathan Jones led this group with four interceptions, which was tied for the most on the team, and has resigned back in New England for two years on what is a real hometown discount. He is the Patriots’ top corner and is coming into his own as one of the best in the league.

Jack Jones and Marcus Jones were bright spots, as well as the two rookies contributed to a few of the Patriots’ wins throughout the year. Jack Jones was one of the top man corners in the NFL up until his injury against Arizona, defending six passes, which was good enough for third in the NFL up to the point of his injury.

Marcus Jones contributed to the Patriots as the nickel corner but was much more dynamic than just a defender. He scored an explosive touchdown in the Thursday night loss to the Bills on a screen pass but just two weeks prior he won the Patriots a sloppy game against the Jets on a punt return on the final play of the game.

Safety

Kyle Duggar, Adrian Phillips, Jabrill Peppers, Jalen Mills

This is the most dynamic position at New England’s disposal on defense. The Patriots love using their safeties in different ways. Duggar, Phillips, and Peppers were all used in different ways last year. Either lined up in the box as an additional linebacker, playing outside in man coverage, or just keep playing center field on defense these three were truly the jack of all trades. Duggar is coming into his own as the leader on defense now with Devin McCourty’s retirement.

Duggar was second on the Patriots in total tackles with 78 but it was his pass coverage ability that really showed last year. For someone as big as Duggar, man coverage could be a concern but he had no issue when he was one on one.

Phillips himself is one of the better secondary players in the NFL. Since coming to New England in 2020, Phillips has not missed a single game. Although last year his production dipped a bit after the signing of Jabrill Peppers, the positive here is that Phillips does not have to carry the load as in years past.

Both Peppers and Mills resigned to stay in New England and that veteran depth at the safety position is something that the Patriots rely on to succeed. The Patriots love to roll out three even sometimes four safeties in certain defensive packages so having four safeties as dynamic as this group is a necessity.

In condition to resigning, the Patriots are moving Jalen Mills back to safety which he hadn’t played since 2020 when he was in Philadelphia so that is an interesting dynamic as we get closer to the start of the season.

Obviously, there is more time for roster construction as the off-season drags on and who knows what Bill Belichick has up his sleeve.