Which Patriots Free Agent Signing Will Be the Most Impactful?

The Patriots entered into this offseason with a bunch of cap space and a lot of needs across this entire roster. They got right to work, spending a ton of money on solid improvements. Most of the players they signed, like Carlton Davis, Milton Williams, Harold Landry, and Robert Spillane are all focused on the defensive side of the ball. They did make a few improvements to the offense with Morgan Moses and Mack Hollins, but which of these new Patriots will have the biggest impact on the team’s performance next year?

Firstly, the biggest impact player from free agency will be a defensive player because an aging Morgan Moses can bring a boost to this terrible offensive line, but he is unlikely to be a massive impact player at his age. When we look at these new defensive pieces, there is a lot for Patriots fans to get excited about moving forward. Although defense might not “make a splash” in the eyes of many fans, it will certainly help this team win more games. This Patriots defense finished near the bottom in just about every category last year, but these new veteran signings will bring a very different skill set and intensity that this defense has been missing since the championship Patriot teams. These free agency signings, combined with Vrabel’s defensive coaching, will elevate this defense to a top-10 unit next year and potentially help them get back into playoff contention.

I like the Carlton Davis signing, but he will not be the most impactful signing because the Patriots were already good at defending the pass with the premier play of Christian Gonzalez. This signing will make this defense really hard to throw against, but many of the problems for New England’s defense came with defending the run last year. This is why I look at the signings of Robert Spillane, Milton Williams, and Harold Landry as the highest potential impact signings. If these newcomers can improve the team’s pass rush and shut down the opposing offense’s running game, then this team will be much improved and will win more games next season. Coming into this offseason, I identified that the positions New England needed to address the most were wide receiver, defensive line, and linebacker. They have done a great job of addressing their defensive needs during free agency so far. Moving forward, the Patriots need to fix up this offensive line more and continue to address their receiver problem to help Drake Maye develop in this offense.