The 2024 NFL season has been a disaster for the New England Patriots. They finished last in the AFC East conference to the dismay of the fans. After just 4 wins in the 2023 season, they needed to respond. And they did. The Patriots brought in a quality quarterback in Drake Maye, hoping the results would turn around. But after yet another deflating campaign, they have been forced to rethink radically, starting with the firing of coach Jerod Mayo. The 2024-25 season exposed more problems for the Patriots as they now contemplate how to proceed.

In such a complex scenario, reporter Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald has said the Patriots can take inspiration from how the Washington Commanders handled the rebuild ahead of this season. In his report, Andrew details how the Commanders were in the same situation a year ago. True enough, the Commanders were bottom of the NFC East Conference at the end of the 2023 season. If we go into the details, we find even more similarities. Like both of them had only 4 wins in those respective seasons. Credit has to be given to how the Commanders handled the situation with great decisiveness and craft. Their reward is their first divisional round appearance since 2005.

The Commanders bolstered the depth of the squad with low-cost players on short deals, like Austin Ekeler on a 2-year deal worth $11 million, and Zach Ertz on a 1-year contract. The advantage? Insurance in case of an injury crisis. And if the buys didn’t work out, it wouldn’t hurt their pockets. In turn, the Commanders used the salary cap room to bring in Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore in November to upgrade the squad.

Similarly, coach Dan Quinn brought in some of his ex-players like Dante Fowler and linebacker Bobby Wagner. His former players were crucial to helping the coach integrate the culture quickly into the Commanders‘ dressing room. Fowler and Wagner acted as unofficial spokespersons for Quinn to spread the coach’s methods like gospel. The fact that they were experienced veterans with prior experience under the coach also meant they were on about their business without needing much instruction from Quinn, allowing the coach to focus on the new and younger faces.

It was a beautiful mechanism being unfolded in tandem, like the gears of a clock rotating in sync for one sole purpose – the success of the team. And it worked. And it could probably work for the Patriots too.

Drake Maye is there, now give him the tools

The Patriots already have their starting QB, Drake Maye. But he doesn’t have the support he needs to express himself, to be his best self. For starters, a QB needs protection. It doesn’t matter how good a QB is, if his O-line doesn’t protect him from the rushing defensive line of the opposition, you might as well not use a quality QB. And the new Patriots coach Mike Vrabel has reiterated that stance: “Certainly, you look at the teams that are able to protect the quarterback and dictate the flow of the game offensively, making sure that up front we’re sound, we’re strong, whether that’s through free agency or the draft, that’s something that’s critical.”

As such, the Patriots will probably have to look at their Centre and tackles to address this issue. Having been sacked 52 times in the 2024-25 season, they will have to bolster the O-line, be it through free agency or the draft.

But more work remains. With the offensive line handled, they will next need to bring in a wide receiver. Yes, I know what you are saying, the Patriots have quite a few WRs. No, Kendrick Bourne, DeMario Douglas, and Kayshon Boutte aren’t going to cut it. The Patriots need to give Drake Maye a WR on his wavelength. That’s when the magic will happen. There are multiple options the Patriots can plan for, and if they land the right candidate, let’s just say they can outdo even the Commanders’ 2024 season. Hell, the Patriots even have a bigger salary purse than the Commanders had ahead of the 2024 Draft.

But the work is still not done. Last but not least, well definitely the worst problem the Patriots need to address is their defense. They scored just 28 sacks last season, the least in the league. They need to bring in personnel who can rush effectively, plain and simple. The Patriots can look at Josh Sweat of the Philadelphia Eagles and Azeez Ojulari of the New York Giants as options. Besides this, the Patriots may also have to look at the corner position to partner Christian Gonzalez. Coach Vrabel can look at his former corner Kristian Fulton and receiver, A.J. Brown in case he decides to bring in some familiar faces.

A daunting task lies ahead for the New England Patriots. But while tackling a challenge, one should look at the positives and scope. One positive is that the Commanders have shown it can be done. Second, the Patriots have an ample salary cap to attract quality personnel. And third, people will want to play with Drake Maye.