FOXBORO, Mass. -- Opinions are mixed on what the Patriots have done so far this offseason.
On one hand, New England added pass-catching help in JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mike Gesicki, and bolstered its offensive line depth with tackles Calvin Anderson and Riley Reiff. It also re-signed cornerback Jonathan Jones, arguably the franchise's top internal free agent.
But on the other hand, the Patriots basically are running it back on defense, and you could argue they've made only slight improvements on offense. The implication then would be that New England believes its personnel wasn't the problem in 2022, and that coaching dysfunction created by Matt Patricia and Joe Judge was the real issue. The insertion of Bill O'Brien as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach and the hiring of Adrian Klemm as O-line coach were the most necessary moves.
Personnel chief Matt Groh pushed back against that narrative while meeting with reporters Tuesday morning.
"I would not say that as a personnel staff we said, 'Oh yeah, our personnel was good enough,' " Groh said during a pre-draft media availability at Gillette Stadium. "We've got to try and improve in every way. That starts with me. I've got to try and improve and do a better job and identify the players we think can help us win more games -- because we’ve got to win more games.
"We were an 8-9 football team. As the old saying goes, you are what (your record says) you are. That's a losing record. I think we've got to get better across the board."
Of course, much can change from a personnel perspective between now and the start of the 2023 season.
The Patriots still could swing a trade for an impact player at any position -- receiver, perhaps? -- and their strategy in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft will speak volumes about how they view their current roster. There also still are some quality free agents on the board.
New England began its offseason program on Monday and will hold voluntary practices and mandatory minicamp from late May through mid-June.
