The Patriots made 11 selections in this year’s draft, but some uncertainty remains.
The New England Patriots have been universally praised for their 2025 NFL Draft class, primarily because they managed to address the biggest needs on their roster without having to reach for talent. As a result, their current roster looks significantly improved across the board and a lot more promising than it did a little over a week ago.
That being said, some questions do remain even with the Patriots’ recent influx of talent. Let’s take a look at the most prominent at this point in time.
Who will start along the interior offensive line?
New England found its left tackle of the future in Round 1, picking LSU product Will Campbell fourth overall. They then added Jared Wilson out of Georgia in the third round to improve the long-term outlook at center. Questions still remain at two spots up front, though: center and left guard.
Who will start in those positions remains to be seen, with both seemingly open for competition. At center, Wilson will compete with veteran free agency pickup Garrett Bradbury, 2024 10-game starter Ben Brown, 2024 2-game starter Cole Strange; Bradbury has to be considered the frontrunner at the moment, but time will tell whether or not he will live up to that billing.
The left guard competition could be a two-horse race, with Cole Strange once again involved. With no additional players added in the draft, the former first-round draft pick, who had his fifth-year contract option declined earlier this week, is expected to go up against Layden Robinson, who started the final five games of the 2024 season in that spot.
The three other offensive line spots, on the other hand, appear to be set in stone. Campbell will start at left tackle, with veterans Michael Onwenu and Morgan Moses holding down the fort at right guard and tackle, respectively.
Will a No. 1 wide receiver emerge?
DeMario Douglas has been the Patriots’ most reliable wide receiver the last two years, but he will have some competition for the “go-to guy” title in 2025. Stefon Diggs and third-round rookie Kyle Williams both are expected to see prominent action within quarterback Drake Maye’s supporting cast this year.
Who among them will emerge as the top dog in the room remains to be seen, with all three having arguments in their favor: Douglas has the experience with Maye; Diggs has the résumé; Williams has the big-play profile.
The latter in particular is also expected to factor into the X-receiver mix. At the moment, that spot in the lineup is being filled by offseason signing Mack Hollins and third-year man Kayshon Boutte. Both have had some good moments in their respective careers, but neither is capable of striking fear in defensive coordinators’ eyes — leaving this a position that also is very much not yet set in stone.
Who will be QB3?
The Patriots entered the draft with Drake Maye and Joshua Dobbs as their only quarterbacks, and they exited it with the same setup in place. At the moment, it appears the third spot on the depth chart will be filled by a rookie free agent.
New England has signed Louisiana’s Ben Wooldridge as a rookie free agent, and also is taking a look at rookie minicamp invitee Jake Willcox out of Brown. There is a chance that one of them — with Wooldridge being the favorite — will head into training camp as the scout team option alongside Maye and Dobbs.
What will the edge rotation look like?
The Patriots showed a keen interest in this year’s defensive edge class ahead of the draft, but they ended up waiting until the fifth round to add to the position. LSU’s Bradyn Swinson was the only edge selected by the club, leaving the position group as a whole seemingly thinner than desired.
At the moment, New England’s edge group consists of Swinson as well as returning starter Anfernee Jennings, free agency pickups Harold Landry and K’Lavon Chaisson, and former practice squad member Truman Jones. The first four look like they will form the rotation this year, but questions still remain across the board.
Will Jennings remain a one-dimensional early-down edge setter in the run game? Will Landry pick up where he left off after leaving Tennessee? Will Chaisson show that his 2024 season was no fluke? Will Swinson shed his fifth-round label and become a productive pass rusher?
And also: will New England try to add more depth to the roster behind the projected top 4?
Is the fullback position really making a comeback?
New Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has always been a supporter of the fullback position, regularly using it to great success during his first two stints with the club. And indeed, the team has invested in the position this offseason: the since-released Giovanni Ricci was signed as a fullback/tight end hybrid, with NIU’s Brock Lampe later joining the team as a rookie free agent.
For the time being, Lampe sits atop the fullback depth chart despite a lack of experience or draft pedigree. That does not mean he will make the roster or even get a chance to prove himself in training camp, but it shows a willingness to reintegrate the position as a whole into the offense — something that was not the case the last three seasons.
Time will tell whether or not that means the fullback position is really making a comeback, though.
Which veterans are on thin ice?
Joe Cardona was the latest Patriots veteran to get shown the door under new head coach Mike Vrabel, and he might be the last. We already dove into this question in greater detail earlier in the week, and showed why the situation is more complex than just pointing at potential cut candidates, but uncertainty keeps surrounding a fairly large group of players to some degree.