ESPN's Annual Ranking of NFL Rosters Highlights the Miracle Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf Have Pulled Off in Just Two Offseasons
Matthew Stockman. Getty Images.You'll have to forgive me as I interrupt this futbol coverage for some real football coverage. Actually, you don't. Because I apologize for nothing.
We're just under a month before the start of NFL training camps. And while it's my clearly articulated, often repeated policy to never wish summer a minute of summer away, the 2026 Patriots camp promises to be special. After the franchise played a great cosmic UNO Reverse card on its fortunes last year, going from a Week 18 win they should've lost at the end of 2024 that would've given them the worst record in the league, they went to the Super Bowl in 2025. And then further upgraded their talent level in 2026. To the point even the NFL's state run media at ESPN is acknowledging it:
Source - After an offseason chock-full of trades, free agent signings and draft picks, all 32 NFL teams have their rosters mostly set for the 2026 season. But how do they stack up when compared to each other? …
7. New England Patriots
Biggest strength: Secondary. Christian Gonzalez has emerged as one of the league's top young cornerbacks and is joined on the perimeter by veteran standout Carlton Davis III. Marcus Jones has quickly developed into a standout in the slot. Craig Woodson was a terrific find in the fourth round of last year's draft and will be joined at safety by Jaylinn Hawkins' replacement, Kevin Byard, who continues to play at a high level at age 33. -- [Mike] Clay
Biggest weakness: Edge rusher. New England has a terrific roster, so we'll pick the position group that contributed to the team generating only 35 sacks last season (tied for seventh fewest). Harold Landry III remains an impact player and has now registered 8.5-plus sacks each of the past four seasons. Veteran Dre'Mont Jones (who has never cleared 6.5 sacks in a season) was brought in to help replace the departed K'Lavon Chaisson (7.5 sacks last season), with 2025 UDFA Elijah Ponder and second-round rookie Gabe Jacas the primary depth. -- Clay
X factor for 2026: Offensive line. There are ways it can break right. Maybe left tackle Will Campbell improves in his second season or first-rounder Caleb Lomu takes over and has success right away. Alijah Vera-Tucker could stay healthy and live up to his reputation as a plus-guard. And Mike Onwenu can remain solid, too. But it could easily turn the other way. Maybe right tackle Morgan Moses declines further or can't stay healthy. Perhaps Campbell doesn't improve and maybe Jared Wilson won't be as ready for the center job as the team thought. How the offensive line shakes out could make or break the Patriots. -- [Seth] Walder
As far as ranking them seventh, and third in the AFC behind Buffalo at four and Baltimore at five, I'm not going to ask to speak to the manager. That would be splitting the thinnest of hairs. There's no metric for this sort of thing. And the difference of a rank or two is hardly worth the calories.
I could also make a case that having the runner-up MVP under center who led the league in passer rating and yards per attempt - a statistical Cheez-Its Duo combination that is practically unheard of - would automatically make quarterback your "Biggest strength." But I won't pick that nit given that the Pats added an All Pro who led the NFL in interceptions to an already stacked unit. And I agree that Edge is a concern (not helped in the slightest by the weird Gabe Jacas situation that's still lingering). As well as with the assessment of the O-line, which should be greatly improved with AVT and Lomu as an option at RT. So I have no argument with the analysis done.
Instead, I'm here to give credit where it is most definitely due. It's nothing short of miraculous what the braintrust of Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf have pulled off in the span of just two offseasons. Consider that when Wolf took over in 2024, this very same ranking (paywall) had the Pats at No. 27. And given how badly that season went, it's not a stretch to say ESPN was being inexplicably generous. Most similar lists had them at 31 or dead last.
Here are the Before and After photos. Note that the starting QB was in fact Jacoby Brissett for the first month and a half.
2024:
2026:
Under even the best of circumstances, with tons of draft capital at your disposal and a manageable cap situation, it can easily take half a decade to pull yourself up from bottom of the league to Top 7. And for franchises like the Jets, it takes generations and still never gets there.
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The tired cliche is to compare it to turning an oil tanker. Vrabel and Wolf have spun this thing around its axis like the Millennium Falcon. The top wide receiver pairing is among the best in the league. I'd have Mack Hollins as the WR3, but Boutte was among the best deep threats in the league, so have at it. The O-line has been completely transformed, and the one name who appears on both rosters, Onwenu, is at his natural position. The defense has been completely flipped, save for Gonzalez, Barmore and Marcus Jones, who was was promising in 2024 but now is a legitimate, playmaking ball-magnet.
In football terms, this is the Meiji Restoration of 1868, when feudal Japan transformed itself from an isolated shogunate to a modern industrial power in the span of just a few years. From silk robes to suits, ties and top hats in the blink of a socio-economic eye. In a few decades they were fighting modern wars and establishing an empire. As the world stood amazed at how they pulled it off.
The Vrabel-Wolf Restoration has been just as impressive in its own right. Especially when you consider they've done this while remaining sixth in the league in cap room for this year, and still middle of the pack for 2027. Meaning they have the means to extend Gonzalez and Drake Maye and keep this core going for the foreseeable future. If this is what they can accomplish in just two offseasons, try to imagine how it will be once they get good at this whole empire building thing.
Giphy Images.