New England Patriots: 2-Step offseason plan to fixing the offense

New England Patriots offseason Step 2: Sign a top-tier wide receiver

Outside of the quarterback position, another step to the Patriots improving things offensively is adding to the talent in the wide receiving room and on that group on the outside of the field.

Even in Tom Brady’s final few years in New England, the Patriots didn’t really have a ton of firepower at the wideout position which became an increasingly growing concern leading up to this offseason.

In 2020, that was once again a big weakness on the team led by Cam Newton under center. Not only did the Patriots have one of the worst passing offenses in the NFL, but they also saw top wide receivers Julian Edelman and N’Keal Harry deal with injury issues throughout the regular season, which further exposed the lack of talent at the receiving group on the team.

This offseason, the Patriots could add at least one or maybe two wide receivers via free agency to add to Edelman, Harry and company and to help with improving the passing game in 2021 and beyond.

A few names that could arise as the offseason progresses are Tennessee Titans’ Corey Davis, Carolina Panthers’ Curtis Samuel, Chicago Bears’ Allen Robinson, Houston Texans’ Will Fuller, Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Chris Godwin and Pittsburgh Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster, among others.

Among that list, some of the more intriguing names include Robinson, Godwin and Smith-Schuster, all of who have been top wideouts for their respective teams the last few years.

With the ongoing struggles in Chicago, Robinson might look to leave the Bears as a free agent this offseason and there should be plenty of teams interested in his talents. The Steelers and their tough salary cap situation might result in Smith-Schuster departing this offseason as well.

The Godwin situation might be more of an outside shot, since he and the Buccaneers are likely going to try and work something out this offseason as he becomes a free agent. That is, unless Godwin wants to become a clear No. 1 wide receiver elsewhere or if Tampa Bay goes out and brings in someone like Odell Beckham Jr. ahead of the new year, which has been floated around as a rumor early on in the offseason.

Regardless of who the player is or how many the Patriots bring in, they need to go out and sign some top-tier wide receiver talent to add to the team to improve the offense.