6 rings: The Patriots look to be taking the safe route with their coaching hires
The new-look New England Patriots are off and running under the lead of head coach Jerod Mayo in Foxborough.
Since their parting of ways with Bill Belichick in mid-January, the Pats have made three coordinator hires in OC Alex Van Pelt, DC DeMarcus Covington, and STC Jeremy Springer, have begun the process of hiring staffs underneath them with the pending acquisitions of OL coach Andy Dickerson, AHC/advisor Ben McAdoo, and DL coach Jerry Montgomery, and are working through a front office reshuffle led by director of scouting Eliot Wolf and director of player personnel Matt Groh.
The skeleton of the operation is beginning to take place, and it'll soon be time to fill in the guts.
New England desperately needs to improve their roster, and specifically their offensive personnel, heading into next season. It’s been their paramount issue over the last several years and is the reason why they’re even in this rebuild in the first place.
Knowing that the Patriots will likely run a West Coast-based operation under offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt given his familiarity with the system from his tenures in Green Bay and Cleveland, here are seven potential scheme fits in the upcoming free agency class that the Patriots could go after in March:
QB Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Following a 2023-24 campaign where he threw for 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns and led the Buccaneers to the playoffs just one season after Tom Brady retired, Baker Mayfield is now a free agent for a second consecutive offseason.
While Tampa Bay a) has the ability to franchise tag Mayfield and b) has already made an incremental move to keep him in hiring Liam Coen (who he worked with in Los Angeles) as their new offensive coordinator, there’s still the possibility that the quarterbacks hits the open market and pounds the negotiating table.
So why would the Patriots go after Mayfield, you ask? There are several connections to the signal caller inside the walls at One Patriot Place that could allow it to happen:
First and foremost: Patriots’ director of scouting Eliot Wolf was part of the front office brass in Cleveland that drafted Mayfield No. 1 overall in 2018, as the now-41-year-old was serving as Cleveland’s assistant general manager at the time. According to reports, Wolf is effectively serving as New England de facto general manager post-Bill Belichick, and could perhaps have a say in who New England targets in free agency.
Secondly, new Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt was also in Cleveland with Mayfield, serving as the Browns OC for two seasons with Mayfield at the helm. In 2020, arguably the quarterback’s best season to date, Cleveland went 11-5 and qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2002. Mayfield threw for 3,563 yards and 26 touchdowns on the year, and his eight interceptions mark the only time in his NFL career that he’s thrown for under double digit (10) interceptions while serving as a team’s full-time starter.
So should New England shell out the $40 million salary that Mayfield is reportedly expected to make on the market? Probably not, but if for some reason he’s gung ho on not playing with the Bucs again next season, there are enough dots in Foxborough to make the connection.
QB Jacoby Brissett, Washington Commanders
Another quarterback who could be on the Patriots’ radar now that the offensive staff is starting to come together is Jacoby Brissett.
Like Mayfield, Brissett worked with Van Pelt in Cleveland. During the 2022 season, the 31-year-old started 11 games for the Browns during Deshaun Watson’s suspension.
If the Patriots go the rookie quarterback route with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, they’ll likely want to pair him with a veteran presence in the position room. Given Brissett’s familiarity with Van Pelt’s system, a reunion with the team that drafted him with their third round pick in 2016 would make sense.
RB Kareem Hunt, Cleveland Browns
Heading into 2024, the Patriots have just three running backs in Rhamondre Stevenson, Kevin Harris, and Ja’Mycal Hasty under contract. They desperately need help at the position.
Assuming Ezekiel Elliott, who was a godsend for New England in 2023 rushing for 642 yards and three touchdowns on 184 carries while adding 51 catches for 313 yards and two touchdowns through the air, will price them out, the Pats likely look to add a different veteran to the room in free agency come March.
A potential fit? Former Browns running back Kareem Hunt. Hunt, 31, has played in Cleveland since 2019 and wouldn’t ya know it, worked with Alex Van Pelt for the last four seasons on the Browns offense. Though far removed from being the NFL’s leading rusher during his rookie year with the Cheifs in 2017, Hunt’s ability as both a runner and a receiver, and the fact that he’d simply be spell-back to Stevenson, could be intriguing to the Patriots.
WR Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
Lumped in with quarterback and offensive tackle, wide receiver is one of the Patriots’ largest roster holes heading into 2024. Enter Tee Higgins.
Higgins, who the Bengals drafted with 33rd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, is set to be an unrestricted free agent in March barring being franchise tagged - something general manager didn’t sound to sold on at the Senior Bowl last week:
He’s not under contract now so we’re going to have to work through how to do that and if it’s possible and we’ll have to go through the gymnastics of that,” Tobin told the Cincinnati Enquirer in Mobile. “So it’s a different scenario than it was last year. Trading a high-level player that’s under contract just because the future might demand it, that’s never really on my mind. We’ll see what happens this year. I want Tee Higgins back. Everyone on our team would like to have Tee Higgins back. Again, there’s one pie and how big of a slice that takes and what else we can’t do because of it, we’ll have to determine, and we’ll see.”
If Higgins does hit the open market, there’s no reason why the Patriots shouldn’t be in on him. The six-foot-four, 220-pound pass catcher has been dominant in the Bengals offense over the last four season and though no clear connection to Van Pelt and co. in New England, Cincy runs a similar, West Coast-like system that he’d fit directly into.
He’d be the perfect binkie for a potential rookie quarterback.
WR Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals
Like Higgins, Tyler Boyd is also a free agent in Cincinnati and frankly, is far more likely to hit the open market than his teammate.
Boyd, 29, stands at 6-foot-2 and has logged two 1,000+ yard receiving seasons over his eight year career with the Bengals. His workload/production has decreased a bit since 2020 after he took a step back following the team selecting Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase in back-to-back drafts, but the effectiveness is still there when called upon.
Again, like Higgins, Boyd’s familiarity in a system similar to what the Patriots may run in 2024 could make him a target in free agency.
TE Pharaoh Brown, New England Patriots
The Patriots don’t have a tight end under contract heading into 2024 and even if they do re-sign Hunter Henry, whose role both on the field as a playmaker and off the field as a team captain makes him a likely candidate to return, they’ll still need to address the position one way or another in free agency.
Pharaoh Brown, who New England signed to their practice squad in August and later promoted to their active roster on a one-year deal in September, caught 13 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown for the Patriots in 2023 and like almost everyone on this list, has familiarity with Alex Van Pelt.
The 29-year-old tight end played in his offense with the Browns in 2022, making him a potential candidate to re-sign in March.
TE Harrison Bryant, Cleveland Browns
The No. 2 tight end to David Njoku in the Browns/Alex Van Pelt’s offense over the last four seasons, Harrison Bryant is an unrestricted free agent heading into 2024.
Though his numbers don’t jump off the page, the 25-year-old was efficient with his 13 catches in 2023 (hauling in three of them for touchdowns) and his familiarity with what Van Pelt wants to do on offense makes him a clear fit.
He’ll also likely sign at a relatively cheap price, making room for a potential Hunter Henry franchise tag or extension.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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