


There are some players the Patriots simply cannot live without.
Unfortunately, the team has already lost two of them, in Christian Barmore and Matthew Judon, this summer.
But whether it’s for on-field leadership, building for the future or giving quarterbacks a safety valve, these are the Patriots’ most important players this season.
A sneaky-big injury occurred in the spring when backup center Jake Andrews suffered a season-ending ailment. That left David Andrews as the only natural center on the roster.
The Patriots attempted to convert guard Atonio Mafi to center, but he could never consistently snap the ball this summer. Nick Leverett, who’s primarily lined up at guard throughout his playing career, has had his own issues with snaps but heads into the 2024 campaign as the top backup behind Andrews.
Newly-signed ex-Lion Bryan Hudson is now on the practice squad as a third option.
If Andrews goes down, there’s no real guarantee that the snap will get to whoever is playing quarterback. Andrews is also the unquestioned leader of the offense and one of the few players on the roster who can pass down lessons from Tom Brady after winning a couple of Super Bowls with the dynasty-era Patriots.
The Patriots were expected to have a formidable pass rush this season, but then defensive tackle Barmore was diagnosed with blood clots and is out indefinitely, and Judon couldn’t agree to a new contract, so he was traded to the Falcons.
That leaves the Patriots with White, Joshua Uche, Deatrich Wise and Daniel Ekuale as their top pass rushers. White has the most upside out of that group and might wind up replacing both Judon on the edge on early downs and Barmore inside on third down.
White, at 6-foot-5, 285 pounds, has the unique size and athleticism to line up in a two-point stance at outside linebacker and kick inside to rush the passer on third down as a defensive tackle.
Yes, the Patriots have other wide receivers who can line up in the slot, like Ja’Lynn Polk, Kendrick Bourne and K.J. Osborn, but none of them can play the position like Douglas.
The Liberty product is the Patriots’ best “get-open” guy, using his quick-twitch athleticism to shake even the NFL’s best slot defenders. If Douglas, who’s just 5-foot-8, 192 pounds, can stay healthy, then he should be the team’s top receiver.
The Patriots’ offense changed when Douglas wasn’t on the field last season. And it looked considerably better this summer when he shed his red non-contact jersey and took part in team drills in training camp.
One thing that was very obvious this summer at Patriots training camp is that the team’s quarterbacks loved throwing to tight ends. That was Henry and Austin Hooper when healthy. And even when they were out of a drill, veteran Mitchell Wilcox, now on the practice squad, was a popular target.
Henry might not have Douglas or Polk’s upside, but expect him to be a security blanket in the Patriots’ offense. Henry is another unquestioned team leader who stepped up in that role last season.
The offense would get significantly weaker if Hooper was forced to step into this top role.
The Patriots entered the offseason with three potentially elite-level defenders in Judon, Barmore and Gonzalez. For now, only Gonzalez remains.
The 2023 first-round pick showed All-Pro level talent before his season ended prematurely with a torn labrum in Week 4 last year. Now he expects to come back stronger than ever.
Gonzalez didn’t always have the most impactful practices, but that was largely the same in 2023 before he truly turned it on in games. We expect the same out of the big, tall, speedy cornerback. He has a litany of Pro Bowl-level wide receivers to face this season. He’ll need to shut them down to give the Patriots a chance.
The Patriots can’t afford to lose Gonzalez. Marco Wilson or Alex Austin would be next in line to fill a starting outside cornerback role.
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo told players that he expects his squad to be a run-heavy team. That means that Stevenson will be shouldering most of the load.
Stevenson had a down season in 2023, but so did everyone in the Patriots’ offense. If the summer is any indication, he might not have the most help from his offensive line, so Stevenson will need to be adept at picking up yards after contact and creating his own space in the offense.
He’s said multiple times this summer that he feels comfortable in the coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s outside zone scheme.
Regardless of how much Maye actually plays in 2024, he has to show some promise. Because if Maye shows promise, then it becomes easier for the Patriots to bring in talent in 2025 and beyond when they’re actually expected to be competitive.
So, whether it’s starting games or clean-up duty, Maye needs to play like the third overall pick when he’s on the field. And based on his improvement in practice this summer, that seems well within his reach.