New England Patriots: 5 Offseason moves to keep dynasty alive

3. Keep defense intact while improving

You could argue that the reason the New England Patriots were able to even play a home playoff game this season was due to the strength of their defense. By most statistical measures, the Patriots were the best defensive team in the NFL in 2019 and, at least against the passing attack of Tennessee, they showed that. However, the 2020 offseason offers some tricky situations.

Jamie Collins, Kyle Van Noy, Devin McCourty, Justin Bethel, Danny Shelton, Elandon Roberts and Nate Ebner are all slated to enter free agency this offseason. While the Pats may not be able to retain all of those guys, many of them played such critical roles to the defensive success this year that they must retain some of them to stay at an elite level.

Re-signing Collins and Van Noy seems like a good place to start and, if they can get a discount on the 33-year old, bringing McCourty back seems wise as well. But beyond that, the Patriots may face the decision of trying to maintain their defensive success by looking elsewhere. They should look to improve their edge rushers in the draft and perhaps add depth at safety as well.

While much of the focus on the Patriots offseason will hone in on the offense, they can’t neglect the defense. That was their bread and butter this season and, if they want to keep the dynasty alive and get back to the mountaintop again, they have to keep their defense playing at an elite level.