Patriots' Biggest Remaining Needs After the Draft - What's Still Missing
The 2026 NFL Draft is over. The Patriots are a few players short of filling out their 91-man roster ahead of the next phases of their offseason schedule. The returning blue chip players in Drake Maye and Christian Gonzalez remain, and the new faces of the franchise drafted last week are stepping into the facility to sign their contracts.
There's still a few places on New England's roster that could be addressed, either in the short term or the long term. It wasn't a perfect draft by any stretch of the imagination, but the fact that several holes were plugged up should have Patriots fans excited about the nine new selections for this season.
The three biggest needs heading into the draft -- finding a long term plan at right tackle, bolstering the edge rushers and drafting a backup tight end -- were all accomplished in the first three rounds. While the rest of the picks were used to fill minor needs or bring in competition at certain positions, the lack of addressing other areas could flare up. Maybe not this year, but next.
Long-Term Offensive Guard Options
A lot of this comes from what New England plans to do about Mike Onwenu. The starting right guard, and more-than-capable tackle, is entering a contract year and is bound to make a bunch of money on the open market. When the Patriots gave him his second contract (a three-year deal worth $57 million) ahead of the 2024 season, it showed that the team was interested in keeping their former sixth-round selection.
But he was drafted by Bill Belichick and re-signed by Jerod Mayo. He was a core member of the roster for Mike Vrabel's team last year, but has been away during parts of the voluntary offseason workouts this spring. He's set to earn $200k in workout bonuses this year and the team's longest-tenured player could be heading for free agency ahead of 2027 if he doesn't decide to remain.
Are there options on the team to replace him? Right now, Ben Brown has been the Patriots' top interior backup for the last two seasons, shining when he's been thrown into the lineup at both guard and center. It would make sense that he becomes the running favorite to be an Onwenu replacement for 2027. Caedan Wallace -- originally drafted as a tackle in 2024 -- moved to guard last summer, but didn't play much during the regular season. Mehki Butler spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad last fall.
For the Patriots, one of their top priorities this season will be to either hammer out a third contract for Onwenu, or start searching for who can be his replacement.
A Top Backup At Safety
Plenty has been written about the Patriots' need for a third safety, including from me, who suggested that free agent Taylor Rapp could be a nice addition. It's true, though. After losing Jaylinn Hawkins in free agency, the Patriots brought in former All-Pro Kevin Byard to be his ball-hawking replacement.
Byard is only on a one-year deal and won't be playing in the NFL for the next decade. Craig Woodson, the steal of New England's draft from a year ago, earned his spot in the starting lineup and certainly will be in that lineup for a long time. The Patriots should find a way to keep that train moving.
Signing Byard was a great move. He's familiar with the defense that Vrabel wants to run and could easily be voted as a captain by his teammates. Yet, there will be a time where a backup may need to step up. Right now, Mike Brown, Dell Pettus and Brenden Schooler all project to be more of special team players than starting safety options.
If Byard isn't re-signed next year and he's just a one-year band-aid, that could work. The Patriots will just need to make sure that a possible cut doesn't open back up in the secondary.
Run-Stuffing Defensive Tackle
New England's defensive line proved to be more than capable in 2025. Rotational depth guys like Cory Durden, Joshua Farmer and Leonard Taylor III, all stepped up at different points during the year. However, their games were opened up by the fact that Khyiris Tonga was clogging the running lanes up the middle.
Tonga left to sign a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Patriots didn't decide to draft a possible replacement at nose tackle. Sure, the team signed Miami's David Blay as an undrafted free agent, but he's smaller than what most people expect out of their nose tackles and there aren't many left on the open market to snag for the summer.
The Patriots will need to make do with their defensive line already, one that's pretty well stocked. Durden, who was more of a pass rusher during his first season in New England, showed promise when he was out on the field and could possibly be that true Tonga replacement in 2026. As it stands right now, that remains a big draft need for this time next year.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/patriots/onsi as Patriots' Biggest Remaining Needs After the Draft - What's Still Missing.
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This story was originally published May 3, 2026 at 1:57 PM.