With the super bowl coming to a close the discussion around the Patriots is that next season they will not be as good. While I agree that I do not think that the Patriots will be as good next year getting to 14 wins in back to back seasons is super difficult and is likely not be repeated next year. The reason for much of the discussion is the schedule the Patriots faced this past season. It was the easiest strength of schedule in the NFL this past season and it only got worse in the playoffs until they played Seattle. But I cannot fault them for that they can only play the teams in front of them, while this next season will be tougher for them I think they have good pieces on all sides of the ball and will be good next season.

The defense is very good it was good all season and throughout the playoffs. Their corner Christian Gonzalez is up there as one of the best corners in the league and some argue that he is the best. And the best part of this is that he is only 23 years old. That defense with all the pieces they have will be just as good next year if not better. The offense played well all regular season and struggled a lot in the playoffs. The defenses they played were very good in the playoffs, in fact they were the best defenses in the league this season. Their quarterback who was one of the best in the regular season turned into a turnover machine in the playoffs, and their offensive line fell apart causing the running backs to not be as good. These are not good things but their quarterback is young only in his second year and many of their players on offense are very young.

What they need to do next year is keep building off what they already have. Their offensive line is young while Will Campbell struggled mightily in the playoffs, in just his first year he was good and will develop in the league and be a very good left tackle in the future. Their running back TreyVeyon Henderson is also very young and will be a good running back in the future. Quarterback Drake Maye finished second in MVP voting and was very good for the Patriots and will continue to develop into an elite quarterback in this league. Mike Vrabel is a very good coach as he had many good years in Tennessee and proved that he is a good coach. These are all things that they do not need to change but to continue developing their young players and their coaching staff is experienced and very good.

What they do need to add is an experienced wide receiver that will help develop Drake Maye as a quarterback. Stefon Diggs was good for that but with his off the field troubles he is becoming more of a distraction then a help they need to move off of him. The wide receiver that is on the trade market that I like for the team is AJ Brown. With his antics this season it might be hard to justify this, but he is a good wide receiver and a change of scenery would do him some good. He is a super bowl winning receiver and a veteran presence that would help to develop Maye. I think getting another veteran running back to tandem Henderson would be a good thing as well, Stevenson is too much of a fumble machine to still be on the team. The defense could use some pieces on the defensive line and linebacker to help bolster their already very good defense. They need these pieces to help Gonzalez and bring him out to his full potential.

I think that if they make these changes and adding another year of experience onto their young pieces could bring them to the playoffs again. I believe that next year they will play well around 11 wins next year and around 5-6 seed in the playoffs. They will be good for years to come and possibly another super bowl berth in the next 5-6 years.