Looking at the Patriots 2026 - Iron Sharpens Iron

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Are we tired of "rankings" yet? Yeah, but they do show how outsiders view the Patriots.
I don't understand why this guy has the Broncos and Texans ranked higher than the Pats. Nix is due for a regression and Stroud has gotten worse with each successive year.
I'll take 4th...for now.


View: https://x.com/SleeperNFL/status/2075581881127718963
 
While waiting at the pharmacy yesterday, I looked at Athlon's NFL Preview magazine. They picked the Bills to play the Seahawks in the SB, with the Bills winning.
Well, the law of averages could apply.
 
r/Patriots
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7h ago
jonny_lube
Gabe Jacas situation - Typical of his Agents

I've seen a lot of concern over Gabe Jacas' lack of rookie deal. Lots of concern over his health, his character, etc.

Out of curiosity, I checked out who his agents where and what I found was that his agent, Reginald Johnson of WIN Sports Group, is notorious for playing hardball with rookie deals.

Here is a list of what happened with his other 1st-3rd round clients:

- Jordyn Tyson, 1st '26 - Signed May 8th, but got a fully guaranteed rookie deal.

- Kenyon Sadiq, 1st '26 - Signed May 7th, but got a fully guaranteed rookie deal.

- Mike Green, 2nd '25 - Signed July 17th. Last member of the Ravens rookie class to sign.

- Michael Penix, 1st '24 - Signed June 21st, but got a fully guaranteed rookie deal.

- Ja'Lynn Polk, 2nd '24 - Signed June 12th. Last member of Patriots rookie class to sign.

- Devon Witherspoon, 1st '23 - Signed July 28th, got a fully guaranteed deal, and was the last 1st rounder to sign.

- Christian Gonzalez and Keion White, 1st and 2nd '23 - Signed July 21st. Last Patriot picks to sign.

Unless Johnson gets full guarantees for his clients, his deals have consistently been late in the offseason - frequently not happening until mid to late July.


View: https://www.reddit.com/r/Patriots/comments/1uwhirv/gabe_jacas_situation_typical_of_his_agents/?share_id=FIy4gfZuywWV25INb0ue4&utm_content=2&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1
 
ParanoidPatriot said:
The Sporting News have picked the Bears to win the NFC and the Bills to win the NFC. They picked the Bills to win the Super Bowl. :rofl: :rofl:
Click to expand...
Well, that seems reasonable... if they get there, and if they face the Bears...yes, I would give a better than even chance that it's Williams and not Allen that wilts under the lights.
 
Finally, someone bases rankings purely on stats.
Sorry, I couldn't get the table to come out right.

www.sbnation.com

NFL starting QBs ranked by analytics before 2026 season

Breaking down every QB by overall rating and tier.
www.sbnation.com www.sbnation.com

Earlier this week ESPN released its QB rankings from a poll of coaches and scouts around football, which caused quite a stir. On the one hand it was a lesson in the disconnect between fans and people inside football, while on the other it was difficult to understand the rubric by which the people were judging. Now we’re diving into the fray to release our own QB rankings ahead of the 2026 season, judging every quarterback in six key areas required for success.

It’s important to understand the methodology before we dive into the rankings themselves, as well as the tiers that each QB belongs in.

Offensive Impact: This evaluates how much of a team’s total offense came directly from a quarterback’s passes and running game. Functionally how much they individually influence a drive.
Accuracy: An expression of pass accuracy, with drops removed and evaluated bad throws adding a penalty
Explosive plays: A combination of air/ground plays which gained 20+ yards, combined with Yards per Attempt in the passing game
Scoring: Total touchdowns in both the passing and running game
Lack of turnovers: Interceptions combined with fumbles lost
Clutch: A factor of Game-winning Drives, 4th Quarter Comebacks, as well as touchdowns scored on “important drives” in which teams were within one score of each other
Tilt: These are plus/minus points (fewer than five total) to mitigate aberrant seasons. Without a tilt Patrick Mahomes would have been a middling QB based on 2025, while Malik Willis would be the No. 1 QB in the NFL.

How scores are factored: This is a cross-the-league evaluation of each quarterback vs. their peers. A score of five operates as the league average, with scores of 8-to-10 being significantly above league-average, and 1-to-3 being significantly below league average.

Quarterback
Team
Offensive Impact
Accuracy
Explosive plays
Scoring
Lack of Turnovers
Clutch
Overall
Tier
Josh Allen Bills 10 9 10 10 6 8 53 1
Drake Maye Patriots 10 10 10 9 8 6 53 1
Matthew Stafford Rams 10 6 9 10 9 8 52 1
Jared Goff Lions 7 9 9 8 9 7 47 2
Jordan Love Packers 8 7 8 7 9 8 46 2
Patrick Mahomes Chiefs 10 8 7 7 7 7 46 2
Joe Burrow Bengals 10 7 5 9 7 6 44 2
Lamar Jackson Ravens 8 4 10 10 5 6 43 2
Caleb Williams Bears 9 2 5 7 10 10 43 2
Dak Prescott Cowboys 8 7 8 6 7 7 43 2
Sam Darnold Seahawks 8 8 10 7 4 6 43 2
Jalen Hurts Eagles 8 5 6 8 9 6 42 2
Brock Purdy 49ers 8 9 7 7 4 6 41 3
Daniel Jones Colts 5 8 9 6 6 6 40 3
Aaron Rodgers Steelers 7 6 4 6 9 5 38 3
Justin Herbert Chargers 7 7 7 7 4 6 37 3
Baker Mayfield Buccaneers 8 4 5 6 6 8 37 3
Jayden Daniels Commanders 8 5 5 4 8 7 37 3
Bo Nix Broncos 8 4 3 4 7 10 36 3
Trevor Lawrence Jaguars 7 2 6 7 6 8 36 3
Bryce Young Panthers 7 5 3 7 5 9 36 3
C.J. Stroud Texans 8 5 6 4 7 5 35 3
Malik Willis Dolphins 6 6 6 6 5 5 34 4
Tyler Shough Saints 6 7 7 2 7 5 34 4
Jacoby Brissett Cardinals 6 6 5 5 8 3 33 4
Tua Tagovailoa Falcons 4 8 5 7 2 3 32 4
Kyler Murray Vikings 7 8 2 3 7 5 32 4
Jaxson Dart Giants 7 4 4 4 8 4 31 4
Cam Ward Titans 8 3 3 1 9 6 30 4
Geno Smith Jets 7 7 4 4 3 3 28 5
Kirk Cousins Raiders 6 4 3 3 7 4 27 5
Shedeur Sanders Browns 6 1 4 2 1 6 20 5

Known problems with this model: This scoring format naturally hurts quarterbacks with fewer starts in the NFL, because these numbers pull heavily from the 2025 season, with the tilt being evaluated based on career body of work. In reality, Cam Ward and Jaxson Dart should be higher in the rankings — but we just don’t have enough to tilt their rankings up. Similarly, Shedeur Sanders had one of the worst runs as a starter not just in 2025, but in NFL history. This gives him a lot more wiggle room to move up, but it can’t be reflected at this time.

If you’re feeling mad about these rankings, or think that they are wildly wrong — I get it. I’m a Panthers fan and think Bryce Young is better than 21st in the NFL, but this is just what the model shows. At the end of the day this is all about seeing where a QB is right now, and the beauty of football is that models are consistently thrown out the window as players surprise us, in good ways and bad, throughout the course of a season. We’ll obviously learn more when football begins once more.
 
If they do trade Boutte, it will put a lot more pressure on Williams to take that big second-year leap and become that #3 or #4 WR option, as he seriously struggled with field awareness and running the correct routes last year.
sports.yahoo.com

Latest update reveals likely plan for Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte

Will Kayshon Boutte still be with the New England Patriots for the start of the 2026 season?
sports.yahoo.com sports.yahoo.com
 
Last edited:
king of kings said:
If they do trade Boutte, it will put a lot more pressure on Williams to take that big second-year leap and become that #3 or #4 WR option, as he seriously struggled with field awareness and running the correct routes last year.
sports.yahoo.com

Latest update reveals likely plan for Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte

Will Kayshon Boutte still be with the New England Patriots for the start of the 2026 season?
sports.yahoo.com sports.yahoo.com
Click to expand...

I don't have much belief that Williams will take a big enough leap this year. He was a raw athlete coming out and had a lot of work to do, particularly with refining his route running technique as well as learning the options for the routes. That's a big ask for a young WR in any system and especially for the Patriots/McDaniels' system. Personally, I'd rather keep
Boutte who is well ahead of Williams as a route runner. Another factor is that AJ Brown is a WR1 but he's not an XWR1. He can play flanker or big slot. Hollins can play flanker or big slot, too. Neither have the speed necessary for X. Boutte has shown he can win on X routes. Doubs can line up at X but is a better flanker. Douglas, slot. Chism got a lot of praise for his
improvement as a slot guy this spring in shorts. Training camp will allow the players to determine their final positions and rankings within those positions. One thing is certain, with or without Boutte, we're far better this year than we were at this point last year.

I am hearing a lot of talk that the Pats won't trade Boutte to just anyone. It has to be a good situation for Boutte.
 
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S Kevin Byard was voted 61/100 by NFL players, 1 spot above Trevor Lawrence and 8 spots better than Lamar Jackson. 👀

HNcOqbzacAAViMd
 
chevss454 said:
I don't have much belief that Williams will take a big enough leap this year. He was a raw athlete coming out and had a lot of work to do, particularly with refining his route running technique as well as learning the options for the routes. That's a big ask for a young WR in any system and especially for the Patriots/McDaniels' system. Personally, I'd rather keep
Boutte who is well ahead of Williams as a route runner. Another factor is that AJ Brown is a WR1 but he's not an XWR1. He can play flanker or big slot. Hollins can play flanker or big slot, too. Neither have the speed necessary for X. Boutte has shown he can win on X routes. Doubs can line up at X but is a better flanker. Douglas, slot. Chism got a lot of praise for his
improvement as a slot guy this spring in shorts. Training camp will allow the players to determine their final positions and rankings within those positions. One thing is certain, with or without Boutte, we're far better this year than we were at this point last year.

I am hearing a lot of talk that the Pats won't trade Boutte to just anyone. It has to be a good situation for Boutte.
Click to expand...

Kayshon Boutte Contract Details, Salary Cap Charges, Bonus Money, and Contract History | Over The Cap

Kayshon Boutte contract and salary cap details, including signing bonus, guaranteed salary, dead money, roster bonuses, and contract history
overthecap.com
Why wouldn't we want to keep Boutte? He's not costing that much vs his production and the big plays that he made last year and is capable of making.
If some team wants to give us a top 15 second rounder for him then we should listen. But I don't think that the Patriots should take any less.
 
ParanoidPatriot said:

Kayshon Boutte Contract Details, Salary Cap Charges, Bonus Money, and Contract History | Over The Cap

Kayshon Boutte contract and salary cap details, including signing bonus, guaranteed salary, dead money, roster bonuses, and contract history
overthecap.com
Why wouldn't we want to keep Boutte? He's not costing that much vs his production and the big plays that he made last year and is capable of making.
If some team wants to give us a top 15 second rounder for him then we should listen. But I don't think that the Patriots should take any less.
Click to expand...

He's been productive and cheap. I agree we should keep him and also keep him active in the rotation. The Pats have a lot of WRs.
 
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