The New England Patriots ended their 2022 campaign with an 8-9 record, good for a third-place finish in the AFC East but not enough for a postseason appearance. The Patriots missed the playoffs for the second time in the last four years and just the fifth time overall in the Bill Belichick era. Among the significant hurdles holding the team back was an inconsistent and uninspired offense, and to solve that issue New England brought aboard Bill O’Brien to pair with his former quarterback with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Here’s a look at the depth chart for the 2023 New England Patriots ahead of your fantasy football drafts.
Patriots depth chart 2023
Mac Jones is back under center for New England in year three, and he’ll be reunited with Bill O’Brien with the latter being brought on as the Patriots’ new offensive coordinator. Jones will once again have Baily Zappe as his backup after the latter appeared in four games for New England last season. Rhamondre Stevenson returns to lead the backfield while Kendrick Bourne, Mike Gesicki, and Hunter Henry headlined the returning production in the receiving room.
The new faces on offense include wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who agreed to a three-year, $25.5 million contract in the offseason. Mike Geisicki stays in the AFC East to join the Patriots after spending the last five seasons with the Miami Dolphins, and he effectively replaces the departed Jonnu Smith at the tight end position. With an inspired play-caller in O’Brien, the hope is that the Patriots can take a leap from their 17th-ranked scoring offense from 2022 (21.4 ppg).
New England’s defense proved to be the strength of the team in 2022 as they finished 11th in points allowed, with an average of just 20.4 points surrendered per game to their opponents. The unit will once again be led by veteran Matt Judon, who is coming off his fourth-straight Pro Bowl season.
The Patriots finished 16th in pass defense last season (216.5 YPG allowed), and they’ll look to take a step forward in that area after drafting Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez with the 17th overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.