Peter King doesn't need to see any more from the 2020 Patriots. He doesn't view them as a threat to make any noise in -- let alone reach -- the NFL playoffs this season.
As such, King believes New England should starting looking toward the future.
The Patriots have several pressing matters to address moving forward, their quarterback situation chief among them. But if New England is going to return to being an offensive force, King thinks Bill Belichick will need to alter a certain line of thinking.
"...They have to concentrate on a deep rebuild and that's going to start with figuring out if Cam Newton is the guy," King said Tuesday on NBC Sports' "Pro Football Talk." "It's going to continue with, in my opinion, Bill Belichick finally coming to the realization that the quarterback and the offensive coordinator simply cannot be asked to be the solution for all of the offensive problems. There is not a single skill player on that offense that any defensive coordinator in the league says, 'Man, we have to be worried about (X) on Sunday.'"
In their defense, the Patriots seemingly have made a keen effort to improve their offense in recent drafts. Over the past three drafts, first- through third-round picks have included Sony Michel, N'Keal Harry, Damien Harris, Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene. Unfortunately for New England, perhaps only Harris is trending in the direction of meeting expectations.
Considering its poor history of drafting skill-position players, maybe it's time for the Patriots to stray from the norm and swing for the fences to acquire a proven veteran. New England is set up to do so via trade or free agency.
Either way, the Patriots have a lot of work to do if they're going to restore their billing as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
