New Report Reveals How Patriots Could Improve Receiver Group

The Patriots aren’t in a particularly advantageous spot for bolstering their wide receiver group.

New England is armed with valuable capital in the early rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft, but this year’s class isn’t very strong for wideouts. The same goes for the projected pool of free-agent receivers, and the Patriots reportedly aren’t expected to strongly pursue the lone exception of that group.

Thus, Mike Vrabel and company reportedly could focus on the most practical means of adding weapons for franchise quarterback Drake Maye.

“With the Patriots being out on (Tee) Higgins and the remaining group of free-agent wide receivers not looking overly impressive, New England is going to feel out the trade market for a receiver, according to a league source,” The Athletic’s Chad Graff wrote in a column published Thursday.

“With a slew of high-end receivers already available and others potentially joining them, the Patriots are using this week at the combine to plant seeds on a potential trade.”

The list of “already available” wideouts Graff mentioned includes Cooper Kupp and Deebo Samuel, a pair of productive pass-catchers who were given permission by their respective teams to seek a trade. New England probably should gauge the availabilities of high-end wideouts like DK Metcalf and Chris Olave, too.

But regardless of how the Patriots choose to go about their business, New England must bolster its arsenal of skill-position players this offseason. If not, Maye and company probably won’t be able to be truly competitive in the AFC.