The New England Patriots are coming off a Super Bowl berth, but that does not mean they can simply rest on their laurels. In fact, with a more challenging schedule awaiting and a target on their back now, the AFC champions will need to continue building a roster that just 12 months ago was considered one of the weakest in football.
It no longer is that, but looking at the current roster there are definitive areas that would benefit from more talent being added both in the short and the long term.
What are those areas? We put our heads together to rank them, starting with the most pressing needs.
Major need
1. Defensive edge: The Patriots made significant investments on the edge over the last two offseason, and at the moment have Harold Landry and Dre’Mont Jones projected as their starters. They are an experienced duo with a track record of proven production in the league, but New England still needs to add to the mix. They are actively looking for more speed, as executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf recently admitted. They also need more bodies to rotate in and out of the lineup, especially considering that a) the edge rush was a weakness in 2025 and b) Landry and Jones will be 30 and 29, respectively, entering the upcoming season. Don’t be surprised if the team exits the draft with at least one more player to add to the mix.
2. Offensive tackle: One year after selecting Will Campbell fourth overall, the Patriots might decide to spend another premium pick at the offensive tackle position. Why? Because while Campbell is locked into the left-side starting spot, the right side is a question mark particularly in the long term. Sure, Morgan Moses is expected back in 2026, but at age 35 is nearing the end of the road. In addition, New England’s depth at the position is also unclear after with Vederian Lowe leaving in free agency and Thayer Munford Jr. remaining unsigned.
3. Tight end: Hunter Henry has been one of the Patriots’ most reliable players since arriving in New England in 2021. However, he will turn 32 during the regular season and the depth behind him looks underwhelming at the moment. Free agency pickup Julian Hill will be on the team this fall, but neither C.J. Dippre nor Marshall Lang have shown much so far in their careers. Given those circumstances, the team might go after a tight end sooner rather than later in this year’s draft.
Significant need
4. Linebacker: Even though the linebacker position was a pleasant surprise in 2025, it will look quite different in 2026. Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss are still around as veteran starter-caliber options, but Jack Gibbens, Jahlani Tavai and Marte Mapu are all gone. The Patriots do have six total ‘backers on their roster at the moment, but with all of them better special teamers than defender at least one if not more LBs joining the mix on draft weekend is the expected outcome. Eliot Wolf hinted at the Patriots seeing Day 3 as an area to bolster the position.
5. Wide receiver: The wide receive position will remain in the spotlight after the draft thanks to the trade rumors surrounding A.J. Brown and the fact that Kayshon Boutte is supposedly on the trade block. For now, however, we can only judge the need by what is available. And that is a position group that performed generally well in 2025 and opted to replace Stefon Diggs with free agency pickup Romeo Doubs. With Doubs in the mix, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins and DeMario Douglas still around as well, and potential Year 2 jumps from Kyle Williams and Efton Chism, receiver is not as big a need as the interest in Brown might make it look like.
6. Interior defensive line: Milton Williams and Christian Barmore are as disruptive an interior duo as there is in the NFL, but they alone can’t get the job done. The Patriots like what they saw out of Cory Durden and other depth pieces last season, but adding another high-upside option to the mix would make plenty of sense. That is particularly true considering that Khyiris Tonga, last year’s No. 3 and starting nose tackle, defected to the Chiefs in free agency.
7. Safety: New England signed All-Pro Kevin Byard to fill a starting role at safety in 2026, and he is coming off a season in which he led the NFL in interceptions. However, he will turn 33 in August and is on a one-year deal. Adding a potential future starter to the mix to complement Craig Woodson would certainly make sense for the team, both with the present — Dell Pettus agin projects as the current No. 3 safety — and the future in mind.
Moderate need
8. Guard: With Alijah Vera-Tucker and Mike Onwenu as the starting duo, the Patriots have plenty of experience and immense potential manning their guard positions. However, Vera-Tucker’s injury history is extensive and Onwenu is on the final year of his contract. Adding another player to the mix — Ben Brown is the current top backup and would probably be regardless — would give the team more all-around flexibility should a short- or a long-term need arise over the coming weeks and months.
9. Cornerback: Christian Gonzalez is one of the best cornerbacks in football, and fellow starters Carlton Davis and Marcus Jones are quality players in their own right. But while the Patriots have one of the league’s top trios, the drop-off behind the three is notable. At the moment, Charles Woods and Kindle Vildor project as the next men up, which leaves some room for improvement. New England has done research on a lot of cornerback prospects, and one of them ending up as a Patriot, most likely via one of the later rounds, could very well happen.
10. Running back: Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson are one of the top one-two running back combos in the league, and the Patriots have some depth in the form of Terrell Jennings, Lan Larison and Elijah Mitchell. That said, more bodies and by extension competition is never a bad thing at a physical position such as this. Also, the release of last year’s RB3, Antonio Gibson, created some potential for another receiving back to be brought aboard.
11. Punter: Bryce Baringer has been a solid player for the Patriots, but he has yet to reach the upper echelons of punting performance since arriving in 2023. That and him entering the final year of his rookie contract might prompt the club to bring in some competition, either in the form of a late draft selection or an undrafted free agent.
Minor need
12. Center: After an uneven one-year stint at left guard, Jared Wilson will return to his college position this year. There is optimism in the building in his abilities as a center, which in turn contributed to New England trading last year’s top option, Garrett Bradbury, to Chicago. With him getting a shot and the aforementioned Ben Brown providing veteran depth, the Patriots are in solid shape for now. Of course, that projection depends entirely on Wilson’s development.
13. Quarterback: Drake Maye is not going anywhere, while Tommy DeVito will be his backup in 2026. The Patriots will still try to add another quarterback this weekend, either in one of the late rounds of the draft or in rookie free agency. Head coach Mike Vrabel said so himself leading up to the draft, and the team has been in contact with plenty of candidates.
14. Kicker: Andy Borregales had a solid rookie season in 2025, and should get another crack at the kicker job as a sophomore. That doesn’t mean the Patriots won’t add a camp leg to possibly compete with him, but the need to do so is minimal at this point in time.
15. Long snapper: Strap in, everybody, we are heading toward a long snapper competition. With incumbent Julian Ashby and free agency signing Niko Lalos both on the team, the Patriots have options at the position available. The need to add a third snapper at a position that can realistically only roster one person is virtually nonexistent.
16. Fullback: Fullback is a lot like long snapper, in that there are only so many players you can realistically keep around. In this day and age, one is enough, two is excessive. The Patriots have three fullbacks on their roster right now — Reggie Gilliam, Jack Westover, Brock Lampe — which means that they are in pretty good shape at a position that has become a relative afterthought in football in recent years.
Obviously, this ranking is subjective and there are certainly arguments about moving particular positions up or down the list or into different categories altogether. More than anything, however, the list can be seen as a way of showing where the Patriots’ 90-man roster still has its shortcomings with the draft coming up.
As was pointed out by Mike Vrabel leading up to the draft, he and his team do not want to be in a position to pick for need. And, to be fair, they could field a competitive team even before the draft, which should give them some leeway to stick to their board rather than hunt for players at those primary positions above.
At the end of the day, however, the goal remains unchanged regardless of approach: exit the draft with the roster in the best possible shape. And to do so, adding more depth particularly on the edge, at offensive tackle and tight end is a must.
