New England Patriots Depth Chart
- AFC East
- Stadium
- Gillette Stadium
- Head Coach
- Jerod Mayo
- Offensive Coordinator
- Alex Van Pelt
- Defensive Coordinator
- DeMarcus Covington
- Special Teams Coach
- Jeremy Springer
- Defensive Scheme
- 3-4
New England Patriots running back Antonio Gibson signed a three-year contract to join the organization this offseason, and early reviews from Patriots beat writer Brian Hines are encouraging. "Antonio Gibson's speed was evident in the no-contact setting, as well as his wide receiver background," Hines wrote for PatsPulpit.com. "Gibson should have a role for himself in this offense." It's the first day of organized team activities, and fantasy managers shouldn't be too high on the former Washington Commander yet, but he has a path to fantasy relevance as a pass-catcher behind or alongside Rhamondre Stevenson. The 25-year-old played wideout in his college career at Memphis and posted 172 receptions for 1,283 yards and seven receiving touchdowns through his first 61 NFL games. He's a solid late-round flyer in PPR leagues, as veteran quarterback Jacoby Brissett or rookie Drake Maye could utilize him as a checkdown option often given the lack of high-end pass-catchers on the New England roster. Gibson's 13 fumbles since entering the league rank third-most since 2020, but if he can clean that part of his game up, he should be worthwhile on fantasy rosters.
New England Patriots guard Cole Strange (knee) is considered "month-to-month" with a knee injury, according to head coach Jerod Mayo. The 2022 first-round pick out of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga injured his left knee in the Week 15 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and was placed on season-ending Injured Reserve. Strange has made 27 starts in his first two seasons with the organization, and his recovery from the injury will be key as the team breaks in rookie quarterback Drake Maye. With the season set to kick off in roughly 15 weeks, there will be further updates on his status as Week 1 approaches.
New England Patriots wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (ankle, knee) said he was around 60 percent healthy this time last year from his knee injury and was never fully healthy in 2023. However, he said he's at 100 percent now after resting this offseason. It's nice to hear that the 27-year-old is feeling better this offseason, but his role is a bit up in the air in 2024 after the Patriots added Ja'Lynn Polk in the second round and Javon Baker in the fourth round of this year's NFL draft. New England also signed K.J. Osborn in free agency, giving Smith-Schuster much more competition in the first year without Bill Belichick in Boston. Smith-Schuster had only 29 receptions for 260 yards and one touchdown in 11 games in his first year with the team in 2023. With Kendrick Bourne (knee) coming back from a torn ACL this year, Smith-Schuster's role is in question.
At the New England Patriots' first organized team activity practice on Monday, quarterback Jacoby Brissett took the first repetitions at the position, followed by Bailey Zappe, rookie first-rounder Drake Maye and Joe Milton III. The Patriots took Maye third overall out of North Carolina in last month's NFL draft, but Maye won't be guaranteed the starting gig from Day 1 in his first NFL season this fall. The expectation is that Brissett and Maye will compete for the job in training camp this summer and the preseason, but the Patriots aren't going to rush Maye into the starting role under new head coach Jerod Mayo right away, even though the team has been impressed with the work that Maye has put in so far in trying to learn a new offense. In the bigger picture in 2024, it would be a mild surprise if Maye doesn't at least get some playing time at some point if he opens the year as a backup to Brissett.
New England Patriots wide receiver Kendrick Bourne (knee) will not be on the field this spring with the rest of the team, according to new head coach Jerod Mayo. It shouldn't come as a huge surprise after a torn right ACL forced Bourne to miss the final nine games of the 2023 season. The 28-year-old said that he expects to be full-go for the start of training camp this summer, though, but he's going to miss valuable time working with new quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and rookie first-rounder Drake Maye during organized team activities. As long as Bourne doesn't suffer a setback during training camp or the preseason, he should be ready for the Week 1 season opener. Bourne had a career-high 800 receiving yards and five touchdowns in his first year with the Pats in 2021 before regressing to 434 yards and one score in 16 games (two starts) in 2022.