Of all the considerations facing the Patriots this offseason, one is going to come down to simple human biology: is this team at risk of getting too old, too quickly?
That question may sound silly with a quarterback who’s just 23, and a starting left tackle who’s a year young than that, but with free agency on the horizon it is the exact question New England’s front office has to ask themselves.
Both Executive Vice President of player personnel Eliot Wolf and head coach Mike Vrabel spoke with media at the NFL combine this week and cited one position group in the upcoming draft that correlates well with the team’s needs: edge.
“I think this draft offers a lot of different depth at varying areas, edge being one of them,” Wolf said. “I think it's a fairly deep class at that position that’s obviously an area of need for our team, so it matches up nicely.”
Vrabel also singled out the “volume” he sees in this draft at tight end, it’s the position group that’s most in need of a youth movement. Hunter Henry is 31; Austin Hooper, 31, is a pending free agent.
Leaning on the draft can sometimes look like an excuse to tuck the wallet away. But in the Patriots’ case, they can learn from the cautionary tale of the Washington Commanders in free agency, (as first pointed out by buddy Tom E. Curran on the ‘Patriots Talk’ podcast).
Whether intentionally or not, the Patriots followed in the Commanders’ footsteps in Vrabel’s first free agency period, largely signing midlevel veteran players who could establish a professional culture around a young, talented quarterback.
But Washington doubled down on that one offseason of moves, which got them to a conference championship. They brought back Bobby Wagner, (35), Marcus Mariota, (31), and Zach Ertz, (34).
They started 2025 as the oldest roster in the league and it showed.
The Patriots’ locker room was a little younger than league-average at the end of the playoffs. What’s even better is the impact last year’s draft picks had on the season. From Campbell to Craig Woodson, it looks like the Patriots picked at least a handful of starters.
Staying younger will require them to keep their draft capital rather than overreliance on trades, or free agency – even though last year’s free agent class was also a big hit.
That class includes a few players with zero guaranteed money left on their contracts, like center Garrett Bradbury and wide receiver Mack Hollins.
The Patriots may already be at a crossroads. Last year’s signings played big parts in the season’s success. Bradbury and Moses played every game, Stefon Diggs was the leading pass catcher, and Carlton Davis Jr.
But while New England’s locker room is young enough, the average age of that class going into September 2026 will be over 30. Both linebacker signings, Robert Spillane, (30), and Harold Landry III, (30), suffered injuries at the worst possible time in the calendar year. For all of Davis’ physical and capable play, he spent numerous games getting checked out in the locker room. Hollins, (32), also grappled with a serious injury in December.
Vrabel assessed this dynamic bluntly, days after Super Bowl 60:
“As I was taught, we talk about the business of the NFL, the businesses, we're looking for the better, younger, cheaper player every day, and the players that we have are trying to not let that happen. And that's the dynamic, and that's the business of the National Football League.”
The guy who immediately springs to mind there is Diggs. His rehabilitation from his 2024 ACL tear was admirable, but with a $20.6 million price tag, can he fight hard enough to buck the universal goal of younger and cheaper?
If he can, how many of his teammates can win the same battle?