10 realistic Christmas wishes for Patriots in 2025

Tee Higgins is expected to be the top free agent receiver on the market, and the Patriots will likely have to overpay to get him. That’s what happens when you’re a losing football team that needs to go the extra mile to convince players to sign with you.

Higgins would be on pace for a 1,000-yard season if he played in every game. He’s a big and strong playmaker with the ability to open things up outside the numbers for a Patriots team that has gone far too long without a true No. 1 receiver.

The Patriots drafting Travis Hunter would be one of the biggest storylines of the year. It’s fun to imagine him playing opposite Tee Higgins in a completely rebuilt receiving corps in New England. Those two together would cause problems for the rest of the NFL.

That’s assuming Drake Maye has time to throw them the ball. It’s also assuming the team isn’t constantly moonwalking back faster than the late, great Michael Jackson due to constant penalties. The Patriots can’t afford to go another year without a legitimate franchise left tackle. If the team learned anything in the last free agency cycle, those kinds of players don’t typically come available.

They need to draft one of those players, and they can start with LSU’s Will Campbell or Texas’ Kelvin Banks Jr.

The Patriots shouldn’t aim to just stop at signing Tee Higgins. They should look to add another playmaker at wide receiver through a free agency signing or even a trade.

Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker might end up being the greatest comeback stories of all time next year, but the Patriots can’t afford to hinge their plans on the struggling rookie wideouts to suddenly figure things out in the second year. They should use every resource to surround Maye with the best possible talent right out of the gates.

Jerod Mayo says he expects to make a second-year leap in his coaching journey. The Patriots need him to live up to those expectations in 2025. Coaching inexperience has been a major weakness for the team this season, and it’s an area the team desperately needs to improve on next year. That extends from Mayo to the coordinators and assistants throughout the entire staff. It all needs to be better next season.

The play-calling was more aggressive for the Patriots in the Week 16 loss to the Buffalo Bills. They went for a fake punt and called up designed runs for Drake Maye. It was a game where they came out and punched a superior Bills football team in the mouth early.

Maye’s ability to push the ball downfield and create plays with his legs could turn the Patriots into one of the more explosive offensive teams in the league.

Of course, that’s assuming they address their talent issues.

It was shocking to see the Patriots go from being a top-10 defensive unit to one of the worst in the league. They dealt with a lot of injuries, and Matthew Judon was traded to the Atlanta Falcons. But for the most part, the defensive unit was kept intact from the 2023 season.

The Patriots have to find a way to get back to playing good defense. That could mean personnel changes or perhaps even a new defensive play-caller.

The defensive front struggled all season for the Patriots, especially when it came to getting home on their sacks. They have the fourth-worst sack percentage in the league this season.

The inability to generate consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks puts the rest of the defense in a bind. There’s hope that Keion White can turn into a premier edge rusher for the team, and Oshane Ximines showed some flashes in the preseason before his injury.

The Patriots will have a lot of money to spend in the offseason, and they should consider going after an elite edge rusher to boost the defense.

It’s easy to forget Mac Jones was a Pro Bowl quarterback before the wheels came off in New England. That isn’t to suggest Jones is comparable with Drake Maye from a talent perspective. But at the same time, the Patriots need to avoid setbacks with their franchise quarterback.

Unless Josh McDaniels or some other great offensive mind is coming on board, the Patriots might be better off keeping Alex Van Pelt as the offensive coordinator. Severing his bond with Maye this early in the developmental process could come back to bite the Patriots.

The offensive line has been the biggest problem point for the Patriots in recent years. It was an even greater issue for the team this season with the unit having to depend on mostly backups and rookies to fill starting roles.

They need to draft a left tackle, get Cole Strange back into the mix at guard or center and hope rookie right tackle Caedan Wallace and guard Layden Robinson are success stories. But they can’t stop there. The Patriots also need to improve their offensive line depth at both the tackle and guard positions.

Jonathan Jones has been such a dependable defensive back for the Patriots for nearly a decade. He’s a two-time Super Bowl champion and a veteran leader in the locker room. He’s also 31 years old and closer to the end than the beginning.

The Patriots will have a big decision to make on how to deal with Jones’ expiring contract in the offseason. Whether they extend him for another year or move on, they need to find another top cornerback to play across from Christian Gonzalez. It’s time to secure the future in the defensive backfield.