- - How did the Patriots rebuild so fast? An unbelievable free agency haul and a great draft helped tremendously

Frank SchwabFebruary 1, 2026 at 9:30 PM

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Bill Belichick did many great things for the New England Patriots. But when he and the Patriots parted ways, he left the roster in shambles.

Two years ago, the Patriots might have had the fewest blue-chip players in the NFL. That’s a big reason they went 4-13 in 2023, Belichick’s last season in New England, and also 2024 with Jerod Mayo as head coach.

The one break the Patriots got in their rebuild was they nailed the third pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, taking quarterback Drake Maye. But the rest of that draft class washed out fast. When head coach Mike Vrabel got to New England he had a promising quarterback, a few difference makers like cornerback Christian Gonzalez, and a lot of work to do to bring the roster up to a competent level, much less a championship level.

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Then the Patriots showed everyone that you can turn a bad roster into an AFC champion with one aggressive offseason.

Patriots spend big in free agency

The Patriots went into free agency with more than $120 million in cap space, which was $30 million more than any other team. Teams in that position don’t always spend most of that cap space though. And spending big in free agency doesn’t always work out.

But the Patriots had an owner in Robert Kraft who was willing to spend, and they knew their roster wasn’t good enough.

“We went 4-13. We have to have results,” Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said at last year’s NFL scouting combine, via the Providence Journal. “We need to continue to improve the roster”

The Patriots had a plan, and it started with building both lines. The main addition was Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams, a hero in last season’s Super Bowl, for $104 million over four years. They added Harold Landry (three years, $43.5 million), K'Lavon Chaisson (one year, $3 million) and Khyiris Tonga (one year, $2.1 million) to the defensive front too. Chaisson and Tonga were low-cost additions but both have played big roles.

The Patriots spent big last offseason in free agency, and it paid off. (Hayden Hodge/Yahoo Sports)

On the offensive line, tackle Morgan Moses (three years, $24 million) and center Garrett Bradbury (two years, $9.5 million) were added. Both started in the AFC championship game.

The Patriots weren’t just focused on the lines. They also added receiver Stefon Diggs (three years, $63.5 million), cornerback Carlton Davis (three years, $54 million), linebacker Robert Spillane (three years, $33 million), receiver Mack Hollins (two years, $8.4 million) and safety Jaylinn Hawkins (one year, $1.8 million). All of them started in the AFC championship game.

In all, the Patriots spent $364.4 million on 19 free agents, with $174.9 million guaranteed at signing according to Spotrac. It was a major investment in the roster, and they wouldn’t be in Super Bowl LX without that free agency class. Remember that when you hear that you can’t build a great team through free agency.

The Patriots added enough talent to build a foundation for the roster around Maye, with the NFL Draft to go. The Patriots were in an advantageous situation, having the fourth overall pick without having to reach for need. That helped clarify their draft strategy, focusing on players who fit their new culture under Vrabel.

“We feel really excited about the some of the names that we’ve added. We still know there’s a lot of work to be done,” Wolf said, via MassLive.com.

Patriots get multiple starters in the draft

In a consensus grade point average of draft experts, the Patriots were judged to have the best draft. (Yahoo Sports gave them an A grade.) Draft grades aren’t always a predictor of things to come, but in this case the graders nailed it.

The Patriots started by picking left tackle Will Campbell, which was a position of need and also the best player available. Campbell had ups and downs as a rookie at a demanding position, but he was a starter from day one and was a big upgrade.

“Adding Will to our football team is about a foundational piece, a young 21-year-old that's mature beyond his years,” Vrabel said, via the team’s transcript. “He's a leader. He's durable. He's physical, dependable, accountable.

“This was a very, very easy pick for us.”

They got another starter on the offensive line, guard Jared Wilson, in the third round. Safety Craig Woodson, a fourth-round pick, started almost the entire season. Kicker Andres Borregales filled a big need out of the sixth round. He hit 84.4% of his field goals in the regular season. Second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson started only four games at running back, but had 1,132 yards from scrimmage and scored 10 touchdowns.

The Patriots drafted 11 players. All 11 appeared in games during the regular season and remain on either the active roster or injured reserve. Three undrafted rookies appeared in regular season games and are on the active roster going into the Super Bowl. Sometimes a bad team can have a dozen or more rookies contribute. It’s very rare for a team that was good enough to go 14-3 in the regular season.

The Patriots spoke about not just adding talent, but also adding the type of players who would fit Vrabel’s mindset of a tough team that loves football.

“I think we've been trying to be very intentional about the people, about some of the people to build the foundation that Coach Vrabel and his vision has here for this football team,” Patriots vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden said after the draft. “That started in free agency and that's been a major emphasis for us as we've gotten into this draft process.”

It was easy to see after the draft that the Patriots had completely reshaped their roster.

“I think we'll be much more competitive this year,” Wolf said after the draft, according to the team’s transcript. “I don't like to put expectations on it, but I think we did a lot of things this offseason that were advantageous to us moving forward.”

That was an understatement. Of New England’s 22 starters in the AFC championship game, 13 were new to the roster this season (seven on offense, six on defense). Many others who played a role in that win over the Broncos or throughout this season were added to the roster in a hectic offseason.

Not every rebuilding team has a head start like the Patriots did with Maye. But they did show that it’s possible to flip a bad roster in one offseason and make a Super Bowl. It just took a lot of money, and plenty of prescient decisions.

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Source: “AOL Sports”