Best AFC 2025 NFL Draft picks
USA TODAY’s Tyler Dragon breaks down which teams in the AFC drafted the best this year.
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The New England Patriots enter the 2025 NFL season coming off back-to-back four-win seasons, marking their worst two-year stretch since the early 1990s.
The result of those two seasons? The Patriots moved on from legendary coach Bill Belichick and pulled the plug on his successor, Jerod Mayo, after just one season.
Now, New England is pivoting to another familiar face to get the franchise back on track. That will be former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who played eight seasons and won three Super Bowls with the Patriots.
Vrabel built his reputation as a strong coach by consistently getting the Titans to outperform the talent they had on their roster. He will be hoping to pull off a similar feat in New England, though the team has added plenty of high-end players to their roster during the offseason to aid in Vrabel’s quest.
How good can New England be after these significant changes? USA TODAY Sports is predicting the Patriots’ record as the 2025 NFL schedule release approaches.
Buy Patriots tickets for the 2025 season
Patriots record prediction 2025
Record prediction: 8-9
The Patriots should be significantly better than they were in 2024 given the upgrades they made to their roster. The team added talent at each level of its defense, with Milton Williams and Harold Landry joining the defensive line, Robert Spillane coming in as a veteran presence at linebacker and Carlton Davis joining the fray as a high-end complement to second-team All-Pro Christian Gonzalez.
Offensively, the Patriots notably upgraded their offensive tackle position, drafting Will Campbell fourth overall to protect Drake Maye‘s blind side while Morgan Moses, an experienced right tackle, joined the team in free agency. The team took a similar rookie-veteran approach at wide receiver, with third-round pick Kyle Williams and 2020 All-Pro Stefon Diggs joining the team.
The question about those upgrades is whether they will merely serve to make New England more competitive or whether the Patriots will be able to close out some close games. The good news for the Patriots? They have the second-easiest strength of schedule for 2025, per Sharp Football Analysis.
Notably, the Patriots have an easier-looking home schedule. Their matchups against the the Browns, Dolphins, Giants, Jets, Panthers and Raiders all could be winnable, especially if Maye takes a step forward in his second season, as expected.
The Patriots’ road schedule is tougher, but the team figures to be either on-par or better-than the Saints and Titans. New England should be extra motivated for the latter game, which represents an opportunity for Vrabel to earn revenge against his former club.
New England probably isn’t yet ready to legitimately challenge for a wild-card spot in 2025, but the team should still be significantly more competitive than it was last season. It wouldn’t be too surprising to see the Patriots double their win total from last season, though they might not yet have enough talent to post a winning record for the first time since 2021.
Patriots opponents 2025
Below is a full list of New England’s opponents for the upcoming season.
Home
- Atlanta Falcons
- Buffalo Bills
- Carolina Panthers
- Cleveland Browns
- Miami Dolphins
- New York Giants
- New York Jets
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Pittsburgh Steelers
Road
- Baltimore Ravens
- Buffalo Bills
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Miami Dolphins
- New Orleans Saints
- New York Jets
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Tennessee Titans
