Patriots 2023 NFL Power Rankings roundup: No one has much faith in New England
FOXBORO -- Expectations for the Patriots in 2023 are fairly tempered around New England. They're even lower on the national scale.
Patriots fans aren't expecting a trip to the first-ever Vegas Super Bowl come February, but they are expecting some improvement after last year's disappointing and frustrating season. Mac Jones and the offense should be better with Bill O'Brien now at offensive coordinator, and the defense could be even better than it was a season ago.
But with the rest of the AFC East on the rise and the toughest schedule in the NFL, national pundits don't expect much out of New England this season. In the first round of Power Rankings for the 2023 season, the Patriots are lucky to be at the top of the lower-third of the NFL. In a handful of Power Rankings, they are firmly entrenched in the basement.
Bo Wulf, The Athletic: 20th
Wulf gives the best- and worst-case scenarios for each team in his pre-Week 1 rankings, and the best-case scenario for New England is that Tom Brady comes out of retirement at halftime and plays the rest of the season for the Patriots.
"With Brady at the helm, all of a sudden an offense that looks to have serious questions along the offensive line and an array of pass-catching weapons that ranks in the bottom five of the league can be functional enough to allow its potentially great defense to lead it to a wild-card berth," Wulf writes.
That, of course, can't happen since Brady now has some ownership in the Raiders, but Wulf notes how rules never applied to the QB anyways. (Not quite sure what he's getting at there, but we'll move on.)
The worst-case scenario for the Patriots is Bill O'Brien has no impact on the offense and the season ends with Bill Belichick heading off into the sunset.
"Bill O'Brien is no salve for an offense devoid of juice, and the hardest schedule in the league by projected win totals sinks the season. Bill Belichick is gently nudged into retirement to make room for new head coach Jerod Mayo," writes Wulf.
Mike Florio, PFT: 19th
"They used to be the Harlem Globetrotters. They're now in danger of becoming the Washington Generals."
Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports: 20th
"Ezekiel Elliott was a fine addition. He was overpaid and probably overused with the Cowboys, but he's not a terrible back in a certain role. I don't buy for a moment Elliott will [cut] into Rhamondre Stevenson's workload that much. Almost all backs are timeshare backs, and Stevenson was never going to get 90% of the work. He'll have a big year, with Elliott playing a nice supporting role."
Eric Edholm, NFL.com: 24th
"It's hard to know what to expect from a team that looks like it could be fourth-best in the AFC East (arguably a top-two division in the league) in terms of talent. Sure, the Patriots can and will run the ball effectively, and the defense should be a good-to-very-good unit even without Devin McCourty, whose departure will be felt throughout the organization. But where's the offensive firepower? Rhamondre Stevenson can do a lot, and Ezekiel Elliott should help prevent the third-year back from wearing down, but the pass-catching group looks like a solid collection of second, third and fourth options. There's no one player who changes the way teams will defend New England. Even with Bill O'Brien back in the fold, the Patriots' lack of an elite playmaker is far and away my biggest worry about this team entering the season."
Bleacher Report: 19th
The B/R staff likes the addition of JuJu Smith-Schuster to Mac Jones' arsenal, but still believes the Pats lack firepower to really compete in the AFC East.
"The return of Bill O' Brien to New England as offensive coordinator is no doubt good news for Jones as well. And the Patriots defense should be stout once again.
However, in a division where every other team is stacked with offensive firepower, the Patriots just don't appear to have the weapons to be a real threat to win the AFC East."
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: 24th
"The defense should be solid, which will keep them in games. But the big question is Mac Jones and the passing game. Bill O'Brien will help, but how much?"
ESPN: 17th
"Jones' production dipped in 2022 -- and he missed three games to injury -- after an impressive rookie season, and this is his year to prove the decline wasn't as much about him as the changes around him (e.g., Bill Belichick revamping the offense and assigning longtime defensive coach Matt Patricia to carry out his vision). The Patriots have to decide in May whether they will pick up Jones' fifth-year option for 2025, which further contributes to this being a pivotal year for him," Mike Reiss wrote back on Aug. 21.
In ESPN's team preview/predictions post, the Patriots slot in at No. 18 and are given a 19 percent chance to make the playoffs.
