It’s a new era in New England — again.
Under new coach Mike Vrabel, the Pats are again overhauling their football operations after a 4-13 season. Vrabel’s vision is now the franchise’s vision, though the Patriots retained executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf to lead their personnel department. This offseason, the Patriots are projected to hold a league-leading $120 million in cap space, and four draft picks in the top 80, starting at No. 4 overall.
To put the Patriots back on track, the Herald is publishing a daily series with five offseason fixes that cover the draft, free agency and coaching.
Peeking ahead to free agency, the wide receiver market should see a steep drop-off once the two best players sign.
So, nab one.
The Patriots must end a years-long drought of running offense without a clear-cut No. 1 target and sign Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins or Bucs veteran Chris Godwin. While Higgins and Godwin currently work as No. 2 receivers on their respective teams, both have performed like No.1 options independent of their surroundings for several years.
This season, Higgins and Godwin both ranked among the league’s 10 best wide receivers by Pro Football Focus grades, where Godwin has rated top-30 four years in a row. Before injuries limited them in 2024, Higgins and Godwin combined for five 1,000-yard seasons the past three years. The moment either receiver steps on the field in Foxboro, Higgins or Godwin would become the Patriots’ best wideout since at least prime Julian Edelman almost a decade ago.
At 6-foot-4 and 219 pounds, Higgins seems to fit the profile Vrabel wants in his wideouts. He caught 10 touchdowns this season, towering over opposing corners in the end zone and along the sideline. Higgins is not afraid to box out defensive backs, nor wrestle the ball away in contested-catch situations.
“Receivers that have great catch radius, that can create separation, that are good against contested catches,” Vrabel said last week. “Because when you’re contested and (pass breakups) go up in the air, then they get intercepted, right? And then that leads to turnovers, which then changes field position and all these things.”
Higgins would instantly fill a roster hole as the Pats’ new “X” receiver; the wideout who often aligns in isolation on the weak side of formations. Higgins, like all the best X receivers, is capable of beating man-to-man coverage. Last season, he averaged 13.5 yards per catch against man-to-man, while Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow posted a passer rating north of 120 when targeting Higgins in those situations, per PFF.
Entering his age-26 season, Higgins’ best football is clearly ahead of him. He might be the best free agent available regardless of position. Pats wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, whose role would be impacted by his arrival, even began recruiting Higgins last month on social media.
“Aye Tee Higgins if you(‘re) out there… come to the Pats bro,” Bourne said during a live TikTok stream. “Drake Maye and Tee Higgins touchdown. Look how good that sounds!”
As for Godwin, he’s a more versatile, experience player able to play outside and in the slot. Before dislocating his ankle in Week 7, Godwin was tracking for career bests in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Had he remained healthy, the 28-year-old would have clinched his fifth 1,000-yard season in the last six years.
The good news is, save for a late-season ACL tear in 2021 that couldn’t stop him from a monster season in 2022, Godwin is often healthy. He’s physical, durable and sure-handed, with one of the lowest drop rates in the NFL. At 6-foot-1 and 209 pounds, Godwin maximizes his physical gifts and wins on a variety of routes.
He’s also known as a tireless worker and a locker-room leader, something that could benefit a young Patriots receivers room and Drake Maye as the quarterback works toward an expected Year 2 leap. If Higgins prices himself out as the crown jewel of this free-agent class, Godwin would more than suffice as a consolation prize. He’s more than a borderline No. 1 receiver and reliable target.
He’s a winning player. Just ask Tom Brady.
“(Godwin) does so much for us when he’s out there,” Brady said of his former teammate during the 2022 season. “The guy’s a winner, he’s a clutch player. He comes up big in every moment.”