With the 2026 free agency frenzy and NFL Draft now in the past, the New England Patriots enter May with their first look at a preliminary 90-man roster for the upcoming season.

A collection of players that looks much different than it did just a few short months ago, New England's offseason strategy maintained a future-focused approach to building a sustainable winner. They had a sizable head-start following a deep playoff run that resulted in an appearance in Super Bowl LX, but through each step of the offseason, the Patriots' brass didn't operate complacently.

In March, New England prioritized spending capital on veterans to reinforce immediate positions of need — areas that presented constant challenges in the latter stages of the year. Rather than running it back with the same cast that helped forge a successful season in 2025, the Patriots watched as their in-house free agent class walked — including edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson, tight end Austin Hooper, safety Jaylinn Hawkins, linebacker Jack Gibbens, and nose tackle Khyiris Tonga.

New England also severed ties with starters with time remaining on their contracts. Center Garrett Bradbury was dealt to the Chicago Bears for a 2027 fifth-round pick, linebacker Jahlani Tavai was released, and most notably, the Patriots cut their top option at wide receiver — Stefon Diggs.

As free agency went along, it became clear that New England wasn’t simply addressing short-term needs with their signings. Instead, they were identifying and acquiring pieces that would make an immediate impact while also fitting the long-term vision of a roster built around ascending star quarterback Drake Maye. The Patriots’ 2026 free agency class was highlighted by All-Pro safety Kevin Byard III, Pro Bowl guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, wide receiver Romeo Doubs, and edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones.

Then came the 2026 NFL Draft, which saw New England trade up in rounds one and two to draft offensive tackle Caleb Lomu and edge rusher Gabe Jacas. With their final pick in the top-100, the Patriots added tight end Eli Raridon. New England’s draft strategy continued their offseason commitment to the long-term sustainability of the roster, with developmental additions to shore up premium positions for the years ahead.

As we enter May, the bulk of the roster build for this fall may have already been completed — but not all of it.

So, what changes can we expect to see on the Patriots roster from now until the start of the regular season?

Here are the next steps in building the 2026 New England Patriots.

More reinforcements are expected to be on the way for New England’s passing attack, as the team is expected to acquire Philadelphia Eagles’ star wide receiver A.J. Brown in a post-June 1 trade. At 28 years old, Brown represents the most high-profile offseason investment the Patriots will make at the position since they traded for Randy Moss prior to the 2007 season.

While past New England offenses have placed more of an emphasis on quickly developing short-to-intermediate routes in their playcalling and personnel, the Patriots’ offseason strategy has shown a shift in team-building strategy based on the play style of the quarterback. With Maye at quarterback, the Patriots are morphing into a downfield passing offense — one that stresses the defense deep to open up opportunities underneath, a reversal from their earlier century of success.

Now two seasons into the Drake Maye experience, it’s clear that the New England signal caller is of the much more aggressive variety. In 2025, Maye led the NFL completing 28-of-35 passes of 20+ yards downfield in the regular season — and has a tendency to wait for his deep-shot opportunities to develop.

While Maye is still on a rookie contract, the time is nigh to aggressively pursue an “alpha” X wide receiver that provides a dependable option on those deeper targets, and Brown is the perfect fit. A specialist on the boundary who creates separation, finishes through contact at the catch point, and generates yards after the catch, he’s a downfield threat who can place stress on a defense at all three levels.

A move of this significance would be somewhat of an indictment on New England’s current receiving corps, who notably showed remarkable improvement in the 2025 regular season. Their current X receiver, Kayshon Boutte, hauled in 10-of-14 targets on 20+ yard passes and was responsible for a 153.3 passer rating when thrown to on those plays.

Still, we saw Boutte’s limitations come the postseason. With vertical routes and comebacks largely taken off the board for him on the outside, he struggled to produce consistently with any other route variations. He’s entering the last year of his rookie contract, and has been subjected to trade rumors in two consecutive offseasons. If the Patriots aren’t planning to extend him, he could be a movable piece this offseason in a trade package — either in the Brown deal, or separately.

The same could be said for DeMario Douglas, who also enters the final year of his rookie deal and has shown flashes in each season with the team, but has failed to consistently produce. His snap volume and production took a major hit this season with the addition of Stefon Diggs, and remains threatened moving forward with Romeo Doubs entering.

In any event, New England’s wide receiver room seems to remain in flux — and that’s not where the Patriots want to land with Maye’s contract extension eligibility looming. Acquiring Brown provides New England’s offense with a boundary receiver that brings more robust route-tree capabilities and would open another dimension for the Patriots’ explosive-play-dependent offense.

What Brown brings to the New England offense is well worth the price of admission.

During the 2026 NFL Draft and in the days following, the Patriots acquired additional depth at several thin positions on the roster. Still, relying on contributions in year one from Day 3 and undrafted prospects is a dice roll at best.

New England’s aggressive trades up in the first two rounds sacrificed both of their fourth round selections, and they experienced a drought of 76 picks from No. 95 to No. 171 without landing on the clock. The drop-off on the board was equalled by the drop-off in talent available when they did finally make a selection in the latter stages of the fifth round.

If the Patriots are moving their chips into the middle of the table for another deep playoff push, it’s possible they return to the free agent market during the summer to shore up positions that could use more veteran insurance.

New England’s “plan-A” at nose tackle this offseason was re-signing Khyiris Tonga. When he moved onto the Kansas City Chiefs on a three-year, $21 million deal in March, the position became a need that wasn’t widely discussed.

The Patriots are rich with talent along the interior defensive line — with Milton Williams and Christian Barmore leading, and depth with Joshua Farmer, Cory Durden, Eric Gregory, Jeremiah Pharms, and Leonard Taylor III — but none operate primarily over the center.

New England showed interest in several nose tackles during the pre-draft process — notably hosting Ohio State’s Kayden McDonald on a Top 30 Visit (McDonald was drafted No. 36 overall by the Houston Texans). Some theorized that the Patriots could look to fill the nose tackle hole as early as the first round.

Instead, their sole addition was undrafted rookie free agent David Blay Jr.

Blay has a path to make the roster as a nose tackle who comes to New England after earning All-ACC Honorable Mention honors in his final season at Miami. He started his collegiate career in Division II before moving through Conference USA and into the ACC, but the front office’s connection with Miami suggests they have solid intel on what the player brings to the table as he makes his way up to Foxboro.

Blay is an intriguing undrafted free agent addition, but competition will need to be added. The nose tackle arrived as more of a penetrator than a space-eater (6’2”, 292 lbs.), using quick first-step quickness to collapse pockets and disrupt run lanes. If Blay wants to remain over the center consistently in the pros, it would benefit him to put on more weight to hold up in the run game — even prior to the start of training camp.

Perhaps that competition comes in-house, but while the Patriots’ talent runs deep at defensive tackle, almost none profile as space-eating two-gappers in run defense. Eric Gregory (6'4", 320 lbs.) has an opportunity to step in as the largest body in the room — with some previous experience playing on the nose. He'll likely be the front-runner through the summer, but his limited usage in 2025 (136 total defensive snaps) makes that a difficult projection.

This could be a spot where New England returns to the free agent market during the summer, with the following veterans still unsigned on the free agent market:

It will be worth monitoring if Blay and Gregory remain the lone nose tackles on the roster, or if the Patriots opt to bring in a bigger body to eat up space in the middle on running downs. Either way, there’ll be a Tonga-sized hole in that area.

New England invested heavily in the offensive line this offseason, starting with the acquisition of guard Alijah Vera-Tucker in free agency. That continued through the NFL Draft, when the Patriots traded up to select offensive tackle Caleb Lomu in the first round and doubled-down at the position group in the sixth round with Dametrious Crownover.

Vera-Tucker represents a major upgrade along the interior of New England’s offensive line, and paired with Mike Onwenu, there’s reason to be optimistic about that group’s upcoming performance. Even so, Vera-Tucker’s achilles heel has been his availability, as he’s suffered three season-ending injuries in five career seasons. For Onwenu, he enters 2026 on the final year of a contract that will see him make upwards of $25 million this season.

Onwenu’s limited athleticism at guard doesn’t fit the profile the Patriots have coveted the past two offseasons, and his long-term future with the team begins to come into question now with his high price tag.

It was somewhat surprising that New England didn’t target interior offensive line depth at some point in the NFL Draft; they enter 2026 with Ben Brown as their lone “super-sub” at each of the guard positions and center. Among others, The Patriots notably met with Auburn’s Jeremiah Wright during the pre-draft process (Wright was drafted by the New Orleans Saints at pick No. 132). Ultimately, they settled on the undrafted rookie free agent market to add depth along the interior offensive line, signing UAB’s JonDarius Morgan and Harvard’s Jacob Rizy.

Each brings a much different profile to the interior offensive line. Morgan (6'3", 321 lbs.) showed consistency as a pass blocker and doubled as a powerful contributor in the running game, with flashes of great play strength and awareness at his size. Rizy's athleticism (Relative Athletic Score of 9.88) allowed him to play all along the offensive line in college, showing the versatility that the Patriots have coveted in their recent offensive line acquisitions.

While guard is one spot notorious for producing Day 3 or later contributors, it’s not likely that New England would want to rely on those developmental projects for significant stretches during their rookie years.

Considering Vera-Tucker’s injury history, Onwenu’s ambiguous future in Foxboro, and Jared Wilson’s projection as he switches positions to center, depth along the interior of the offensive line may be a top priority position that still needs an infusion of veteran depth for the short-term.

Here are some of the top remaining interior offensive linemen available in the free agent market:

Luckily for the Patriots, they aren’t in need of a starting-caliber player with the current construction of their line — but some additional insurance could make a big difference at some point during the upcoming season. We’ll see if that comes in the form of another veteran addition to reinforce the work they’ve done up front.

Linebacker is one of the few spots on the roster that New England’s seemingly subtracted more than they’ve added.

Their starters hold steady from 2025 with Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss both returning, but the cast behind them is nearly brand-new. Jack Gibbens, Marte Mapu, and Jahlani Tavai all exited during the free agency period, and were replaced with K.J. Britt and sixth-round rookie Namdi Obiazor.

Obiazor (6’2”, 229 lbs.) profiles similarly to Mapu as a sub-package linebacker that was converted from safety. He shows great athleticism (4.53 second 40-yard dash), is effective at working around or shedding blockers with great timing to make an impact against the run, and has good spatial awareness and discipline as a zone-dropping defender in coverage. He’ll have day one special teams value and may work his way into a third down role in sub-packages.

Khalil Jacobs was also added as an undrafted rookie free agent signing, which was notable after the former Missouri Tiger took a Top 30 Visit to Foxboro during the pre-draft process. With Missouri, Jacobs stood out for his sideline-to-sideline speed and special-teams production. He displayed assignment soundness and versatility that translated well across multiple defensive schemes for the Tigers.

It’s quite possible that the Patriots keep the linebacker room in-tact and allow their young additions to develop behind their solid starting duo. But considering the subtractions of multiple key rotational players and the lack of major re-investment in the room — this position group still remains among the thinnest on the roster.

New England could afford to add short-term insurance in the form of a veteran free agent at linebacker. Here are some of the remaining options on the market:

Whether the Patriots choose to add a free agent at linebacker or develop their rookies behind Spillane, Elliss, and Britt, this is a position group that will be closely monitored as the summer and fall approach.

New England used free agency and the NFL Draft to bolster depth around an already solid foundation of young, ascending talent. Their strategy this offseason will pay dividends not only in 2026, but for the several years to follow.

Now, the Patriots have the opportunity to place a few key finishing touches on the roster — adding a top-flight receiver to lead the passing attack and providing insurance at multiple thin spots for the team in the event of injury.

What position group do you think the Patriots still need to add a veteran to? Who would you like to see join the team before training camp kicks off this fall? Let us know in the comments section below.

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