The Ringer has Patriots' offense ranked last in NFL for 2024
FOXBORO -- No one is feeling particularly optimistic about the New England Patriots offense in 2024. With the regular season just a few weeks away and several question marks at key positions, the expectations are low when it comes to the Patriots putting up points this season.
How low? Bottom of the barrel low.
The concerns are aplenty and very warranted in New England. For starters, first-year head coach Jerod Mayo is a defensive guy, and the offense is in the hands of offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who did not call the offensive plays in Cleveland while he was OC of the Browns.
Mayo spent the majority of the summer pumping up Jacoby Brissett as the team's starting quarterback, but has recently opened the door for third-overall pick Drake Maye to be the team's Week 1 starter. But with a lack of firepower in the receiving corps and a rash of uncertainty along the offensive line, maybe starting a rookie quarterback in Week 1 isn't the wisest move for New England.
Add all of that up and the Patriots are probably going to have one of the worst offenses in the NFL in 2024 -- if not the worst, as The Ringer predicts.
In a column titled "How Will Every NFL Offense Perform in 2024?", The Ringer's Sheil Kapadia essentially ranked all 32 offenses heading into the new season. The New England Patriots sit at the bottom of the list, below even the Carolina Panthers.
"There are corners of the internet where you will find optimism about this Patriots offense. This is not one of those places," writes Kapadia.
The only hope for the Patriots' offense is that Maye comes in an has a C.J. Stroud-like impact. Kapadia isn't counting on that, given what would surround the rookie.
"Rookie quarterbacks are nearly impossible to project. But most rookies are mediocre at best. And looking at the Patriots' entire offensive situation, it's hard to make an argument that Maye is set up for success—if he plays at all," wrote Kapadia.
Kapadia points out that New England's tackle situation -- which currently has Vederian Lowe at left tackle and Chukuma Okorafor at right -- "might be the worst in the NFL" with the offensive line as a whole somewhere in the bottom five of the league. And while the Patriots have some promising receivers in rookie Ja'Lynn Polk and DeMario Douglas, no one in the receiving corps will bring a game-changing impact that the offense is desperate for.
"Brissett has been a competent starter in the past when the circumstances around him have been good, but the circumstances here are potentially the worst in the NFL," concludes Kapadia.
Last season, the New England offense averaged a dreadful 13.9 points per game, tied with the Panthers for the worst in the NFL. It was painful to watch as the Mac Jones/Bailey Zappe-led offense struggled to gain yards, let alone score points.
It's scary that some pundits believe the Patriots' offense will be even worse in 2024.