How will the New England Patriots Improve their Offense in the 2023 NFL Draft?

The Patriots suffered a significant setback on several levels this year, most notably in their offense. The team pushed to advance toward the postseason in 2022, but their playoff hopes ended in Week 18 with a 35-23 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

After the historic loss to the Bills, the New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick didn’t have much more to say.

“I want to congratulate Buffalo on the win tonight,” Belichick said during brief post-game comments. “We just couldn’t keep up. [They] certainly deserved to win.

We just couldn’t do much of anything,” he added. “So we’ll just pick up the pieces, go back to work here and find a way to be more competitive.”

And the team has really set to work, starting with hiring a new offensive coordinator to fix the team. Fans are looking forward to what the team will do to improve for the upcoming season, especially Massachusetts residents who may soon have sports betting.

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New offensive coordinator

The Patriots have hired Bill O’Brien as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and expectations are running high for the new guy.

O’Brien’s first task is to bring back the good level of quarterback Mac Jones.

After a promising 2021 for the starting quarterback, in his sophomore year, his level dropped noticeably, where he had 14 games, 65.2% of his completions (228/442), 2,997 yards, 14 TDs, and 11 interceptions.

His completion rate dropped from 67.6 percent to 65.2 percent, and his passer rating sagged from 92.5 to 84.8.

The player suffered an ankle injury during the season, but it was not so severe that his level dropped so much.

According to several experts, the team did not do enough to support the young player and give him a team that allows him to perform at the highest level.

Former Patriot Rob Gronkowski hopes that O’Brien can polish the diamond in the rough that is Jones and bring out his best self. 

“Just being around Billy O. and just the situations that I saw him put his players in when I was around him, when he was the offensive coordinator, I think that he is going to put Mac Jones in the best possible situation that he can be in week-in and week-out and throughout every single play. 

You’re not going to really see a play where you’re just hitting your head like, ‘What was that?’ I feel like Billy O. does a great job utilizing his talent around the quarterback position all the way to the tight ends and the wide receiver position.” Rob said.

The second task is to add a legitimate No. 1

The team has around $35 million free in their cap space and around 11 NFL Draft picks, so they have a very promising scenario to rebuild the team.

Jakobi Meyers didn’t do a bad job leading the Patriots with 804 receiving yards. But it is a fact that the team needs a high-level player.

The problem is that free agency only offers a few options. Odell Beckham Jr., who didn’t play in 2022, and JuJu Smith-Schuster are the most promising names.

The other option is for the Pats to focus on getting good receiving material in the 2023 draft.

Quentin Johnston, Jordan Addison, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are some options the Patriots can access in the Draft.

For Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyerm, Quentin Johnston is the best option. “The Patriots need to try again to get a bona fide No. 1 wideout for the sake of Mac Jones with Jakobi Meyers and others heading into free agency and DeVante Parker not being reliable with his health ahead of his Age-30 season. Johnston is an ideal size-speed prospect for the outside in the vein of Mike Evans and Mike Williams and also offers route-running savvy and good hands.”

The third task is to find better offensive tackles

If the Pats want to get the most out of Jones, they must give him more pass protection.

According to Pro Football Focus, Isaiah Wynn was responsible for four sacks allowed and nine penalties in just 423 snaps in 2022, so the team will likely let him go in free agency.

Left tackle Trent Brown was responsible for eight sacks allowed and 13 penalties this season and is the priority to replace on the team. The option is to release the player, which could save the team $10.3 million off the cap, but there is also the option to move him back to the right side.

Peter Skoronski and Paris Johnson Jr. are potential targets for the Patriots in the Draft to fill this position.