What Patriots’ Postseason Run Says About Offseason Needs

The New England Patriots‘ 2025 campaign came to an end in brutal fashion on Sunday night when they suffered a 29-13 loss at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. And with that, a very important offseason has begun for the Pats.

After watching the offense dominate throughout the regular season, the script flipped in the playoffs. New England’s defense was the unit leading the way, with the offense getting dragged to victories instead of doing the majority of the work.

Nobody expected the Patriots to win 17 games in the regular season and playoffs combined, which led to them making it all the way to the Super Bowl. That’s because, even when taking into account all of their accomplishments this year, there are still some glaring needs on this roster, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.

Let’s start along the offensive line. After an encouraging start to his pro career, Will Campbell struggled after returning from an MCL injury that landed him on injured reserve late in the year. New England doesn’t necessarily need to move him off of left tackle right away, but adding a tackle on Day 2 in the 2026 NFL Draft is probably a good idea.

The lack of protection for quarterback Drake Maye throughout the playoffs (he got sacked an NFL record 21 times in his playoff games) was a big problem, and Campbell isn’t the only guy responsible for the o-line’s struggles. But even when Maye had time to throw the football, he was unable to find guys who were getting open for him.

Part of this is on his supporting cast, and part of this is on Maye, whose wheels were spinning on a weekly basis as a result of playing some of the top defenses in the league during the postseason. In order to help him progress, he needs better targets to work with in the passing game.

Simply put, this team needs a No. 1 wide receiver. Stefon Diggs was great this year, but beyond him, there’s nobody on N.E. who can consistently get open against man coverage. Guys like Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas are solid secondary options, but they are reliant on someone else taking attention away from opposing defenses.

It also couldn’t hurt to look into drafting and developing a tight end to work behind Hunter Henry. While he’s a reliable option who has a good rapport with Maye, he’s getting older, and he had a couple of costly drops in the playoffs.

The third most important area of need behind the o-line and a top-tier wide receiver is on defense, though. While Milton Williams and Christian Barmore are a dominant interior duo on the defensive line, more help is needed on the edges, especially with K’Lavon Chaisson potentially departing in free agency.

Could Maxx Crosby be a trade target for New England? Potentially, and after a breakout campaign, the Pats will have an easier sell when it comes to recruiting guys this offseason, whether it be in free agency or on the trade market. Using a first-round draft pick on an edge rusher also wouldn’t be a bad idea if the price for a guy like Crosby is too high.

The Patriots are in a great spot to add to this team. They have cap space to sign players in free agency, and with 11 picks in the 2026 draft, that gives them even more flexibility to make moves on the trade market. Losing in the Super Bowl is tough, but if New England plays its cards right this offseason, it could be back in the big game before you know it.