Top 10 New England Patriots Players Going Into the 2026-27 Season

The New England Patriots have had an interesting offseason so far, mainly due to the distractions involving Mike Vrabel. They're coming off a blowout Super Bowl loss, but to be fair, nobody really expected them to make it that far. Complain about the schedule all you want. They beat the teams in front of them. Drake Maye looked like a serious MVP contender. Despite landing A.J. Brown, I actually have this team taking a step back this season due to overachieving last season and a much more difficult schedule this season.

The Top Ten

  1. Drake Maye

    Drake Maye has officially arrived. Say what you will about their cupcake schedule last year. He dominated, and in the playoffs against tough opponents, he came out on top, at least until the big game itself. Regardless, you can't deny his performance throughout the season, leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl when nobody expected them to make it there.

    He was a legitimate MVP candidate, throwing for over 4,300 yards, ranking 4th overall in the league, and 31 touchdowns, ranking 3rd overall in the league, with only 8 interceptions and a 113.5 passer rating. PFF gave him the 3rd highest grade for the 2025 season with a 90.1 grade.

  2. Christian Gonzalez

    Christian Gonzalez is an elite cornerback who can lock down any opposing receiver. He's become the face of the Patriots defense in recent seasons. He was named Second-Team All-Pro in 2024 and made a Pro Bowl in 2025. He played a huge role in the Patriots' Super Bowl run in 2025. He held Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba to just 27 yards. He finished the year with 69 tackles (54 solo tackles), 10 passes deflected, and one of the lowest catch rates in the league.

  3. Kevin Byard

    Kevin Byard has been one of the best safeties in the league for a number of years now. He's a three-time First-Team All-Pro coming off an incredible 2025 season with the Chicago Bears. He provides an immediate upgrade to the Patriots secondary. In 2025 alone, he had seven interceptions and 61 solo tackles with 93 total tackles. He's a true ball hawk and hasn't skipped a beat since leaving Tennessee. Bears fans are probably sad to see him go.

  4. A.J. Brown

    Arthur Juan Brown (born June 30, 1997) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels, twice receiving first-team All-SEC honors, and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the second... read more

    New England officially acquired a new wide receiver from Philly in A.J. Brown. He may have been a bit underwhelming his last two seasons in Philadelphia and has become a bit of a diva, but he's still very talented. Without a doubt, he'll be the top target for New England. At his best, he's been one of the top wide receivers in the league.

    He becomes the apparent Stefon Diggs replacement. He's only a couple of years removed from posting a couple of 1,400-yard seasons and making back-to-back Pro Bowl appearances. I'm sure Drake Maye will love having a true veteran wide receiver to throw the ball to.

  5. Carlton Davis

    Carlton Davis has been a great addition to the Patriots' secondary. He's a steady veteran presence with lockdown capabilities. He's very physical and excellent in man-to-man coverage. In 2025, he finished with 39 solo tackles and 30 assisted tackles, as well as 10 passes deflected, ranking in the top 10 in the league according to PFF.

    The Patriots are expecting him to continue his successful track record for years to come. The biggest knock on Davis is his lack of interceptions. He only had 2 interceptions last season, and those came in the playoffs.

  6. Christian Barmore

    Barmore is a great disruptive defensive end, and when he's healthy, he's arguably one of the most talented defensive ends in the league. He's been good on the defensive line, even if it doesn't appear on the stat sheets. His 2023 season was excellent. However, in 2024, it was discovered he had blood clots, and it sidelined him for most of the season. He played through 2025 and just wasn't the same player he once was. He is still an important part of the defense, but he so far has not been the same player as he was in 2023.

  7. TreVeyon Henderson

    I feel like last year the Pats started to prioritize using Henderson over Stevenson. He finished his rookie season with 911 yards and nine touchdowns. Henderson has shown the ability to make explosive, home run-style plays. Henderson definitely has the upside and potential to be the future for the Patriots running back room.

  8. Rhamondre Stevenson

    Rhamondre is a veteran running back and has been largely solid overall. He finished 2025 with 603 yards and seven touchdowns in 14 total games played last season. He's generally considered good but not necessarily a great running back. He's repeatedly shown to have issues with fumbling the ball, and in some cases, he's been a complete liability. He is good and he is one of the 10 best players on the Patriots team, but he's going to be splitting the workload moving forward.

  9. Will Campbell

    Will Campbell had an up-and-down rookie season, also playing through injuries, which definitely hampered his performance on the field. He got flat-out exposed in the Super Bowl loss. To be fair though, injuries definitely played a part. He showed flashes of potential prior to injury. I'm not too concerned about him at the moment, but he is under pressure to perform well in the 2026-27 NFL season to silence the criticism.

  10. Caleb Lomu

    The Patriots traded up with a division rival to select Caleb Lomu 28th overall in the 2026 NFL draft. They're hoping he can add some more protection for Drake Maye. Lomu started all 12 games at left tackle last season with Utah and did not allow a single sack. He offers versatility and can play both sides of the line. Lomu should add some much-needed offensive line depth for a team that got exposed there in the Super Bowl.

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