10 bold predictions for the 2025 Patriots
The Patriots need a strong season from Drake Maye if they have any hope of playing postseason football.
The 2025 Patriots season is nearly here.
Hope has been renewed in Foxborough, with the arrival of Mike Vrabel as head coach and plenty of roster turnover raising expectations for a team that has posted back-to-back four-win seasons.
But as the Patriots open regular-season action on Sunday afternoon against the Raiders, there are still plenty of question marks surrounding a team looking to re-establish itself as a playoff contender.
Here are 10 bold predictions for the 2025 Patriots:
1. Drake Maye records 30 total touchdowns
For all of the intrigue and concerns hovering over several areas of New England’s roster, the most consequential development for the Patriots is the development of Drake Maye in 2025.
After showcasing his potential as a dual-threat playmaker last season, the third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft continues to assure Patriots fans that they have a potential franchise fixture in place under center this fall.
A lackluster offensive line might have Maye scrambling early and often, while New England is still in desperate need of a game-changing, No. 1 target for its quarterback. But Maye still closes out the year with 26 passing touchdowns, four rushing scores, and 13 interceptions.
There will be some inevitable growing pains, but Maye will continue to look like the real deal.
2. TreVeyon Henderson surpasses 1,000 rushing yards
Believe the hype.
New England already has a deep running back room between Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, and the rookie Henderson. But the 2025 second-round pick out of Ohio State has elite speed — to go along with strong pass-catching abilities and a willingness to knock players to the gridiron during blocking assignments.
Even with his high draft label, Henderson turned plenty of heads during camp and preseason action with his dynamic talent.
New England might open the year with Stevenson earning the majority of snaps, but it’s going to be hard for offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and the Patriots to keep the ball out of Henderson’s hands, given his skill set.
We’ve got him finishing the year with 1,021 rushing yards with 10 scores on the ground — while also serving as a dependable target for Maye in short-yardage situations.
3. DeMario Douglas ends the year with more catches than Stefon Diggs
The Patriots do have a proven playmaker on their roster with Stefon Diggs now cleared for game action.
We’re expecting a solid season for Diggs with six touchdowns and 789 yards, given his crisp route-running capabilities.
But Drake Maye’s top security blanket this year will be Douglas, who consistently got open during joint practices against the Vikings and Commanders.
Given McDaniels’ knack for carving out featured roles for shifty wideouts out of the slot during his previous tenures in Foxborough, Douglas should be poised for a breakout campaign.
We don’t think Douglas will be the first Patriots wideout to break 1,000 yards since Julian Edelman in 2019. But the third-year pro should be able to surpass 800 yards in 2025.
4. Mack Hollins leads the team in receiving touchdowns
For all of the upgrades that New England made on both sides of the ball this offseason, a wideout like Hollins flew under the radar. The 31-year-old has never exactly stuffed the stat sheet — as he totaled just 378 receiving yards over 17 games last season with the Bills.
But as evidenced by his usage during camp practices and preseason play, the 6-foot-4 Hollins could be a useful asset for New England’s offense as a red-zone target given his size and ability to reel in contested 50-50 balls.
Expect Maye to spread the wealth within their receiving corps, but we’ve got Hollins down for nine touchdowns this season as one of the QB’s go-to targets around the end zone.
5. Christian Gonzalez misses at least 4 games due to injury
The good news is that the Patriots have one of the best young corners in the game in All-Pro Christian Gonzalez.
The bad news is that the third-year pro has been hampered by injury in two of his three seasons in the NFL — with his availability in doubt for Week 1 against the Raiders due to a hamstring injury suffered in July.
Given the stalled progress in terms of Gonzalez’s return to the field and the tricky nature that comes with avoiding more setbacks and recurrences with muscle injuries, it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise if it takes Gonzalez an even longer stretch of time to return.
The loss of Gonzalez and the injury history of fellow starter Carlton Davis are concerning, but New England does have some solid depth at cornerback with both Alex Austin and DJ James.
6. The offensive line will once again be a major issue
The Patriots’ porous offense can only get up from last year, right? Right?
Swapping out Vederian Lowe and Demontrey Jacobs with Will Campbell and Morgan Moses as New England’s starting tackles already stands as a sizable improvement, while Mike Onwenu should also bounce back now that he’s entrenched at right guard.
Still, there’s a lot of question marks on this offensive line when it comes to durability, depth, and outright talent.
As promising as Campbell was during preseason action, it’s only reasonable for the fourth pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to go through some growing pains this fall, while the 34-year-old Moses will need to stay on the field — or run the risk of Vrabel and Co. having to turn to Lowe or rookie Marcus Bryant as the next men up at tackle.
Add in concerns over starting center Garrett Bradbury’s pass-blocking issues in August as well as rookie Jared Wilson’s up-and-down preseason, and this could be another year where Maye is going to be flushed out of the pocket early and often.
The Patriots’ offensive line should be better in 2025. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be good, either.
7. K’Lavon Chaisson will be New England’s best offseason pickup on defense
Even with Gonzalez’s injury concerns, New England’s defense is poised to take a major step forward this fall.
The return of Christian Barmore — coupled with New England spending heavily in free agency to bring in names like Milton Williams, Harold Landry, Davis, and Robert Spillane — should make New England a far more fearsome defensive unit.
Williams will be counted on to generate pressure at the line of scrimmage, given the four-year, $104 million contract that New England handed him this spring. After ranking dead last in the NFL in 2024 with just 28 total sacks, a player like Landry with 50.5 sacks on his resume should be a welcome remedy.
But New England’s breakout player on defense ends up being K’Lavon Chaisson, who was a one-man wrecking crew during camp practices as an athletic pass-rusher.
With players like Williams, Barmore, and Khyiris Tonga wreaking havoc up front, don’t be surprised if an explosive player like Chiasson racks up a double-digit sack total in 2025.
8. Kyle Dugger is traded
Kyle Dugger is still on New England’s roster entering Week 1. But the veteran safety — much like Jabrill Peppers — could still be on the way out as a square peg in a round hole on New England’s revamped depth chart.
Even though Dugger remained on New England’s 53-man roster, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported last week that the veteran’s “$9.75M guaranteed salary – and how much of it New England would absorb – was a hurdle” in trade talks.
But as New England turns to rookie Craig Woodson and Jaylinn Hawkins as their projected starting safeties this season, it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise if the Patriots continue to assess Dugger’s trade value.
Dugger may not be a good fit for New England’s defensive scheme, but he’s still a good player — one who could be coveted by a team later this season once injuries start to hit their secondary.
9. Andy Borregales settles into his role as kicker
The case could be made that Andy Borregales was outplayed by veteran John Parker Romo this preseason in the battle for New England’s starting kicker role.
According to MassLive’s Mark Daniels, Romo converted on 90.1 percent (38-of-42) of his kicks during preseason action, while also connecting on a 57-yard field goal against Washington at Gillette Stadium.
Borregales — who was drafted in the sixth round by New England in April — hit 85.7 percent (42-of-49) of his kicks during camp while missing both a 57 and 49-yard field goal during preseason action.
The Patriots haven’t had much luck as of late using draft capital on kickers — as evidenced by Justin Rohrwasser (fifth round, 2020) and Chad Ryland (fourth round, 2023).
But even with some of those growing pains this summer, Borregales ends up establishing himself as a steady kicker with plenty of upside moving forward.
10. Patriots come up short of playoffs with an 8-9 record
Given New England’s lighter schedule, Vrabel’s presence, and a busy offseason, it came as little surprise that plenty of Patriots fans (and media pundits) were envisioning a long-awaited playoff run in Foxborough.
Some of that positive sentiment has been eroded over the last month, given the valid concerns regarding New England’s depth beyond its first unit. Injuries are inevitable in football, and all it takes is one or two critical injuries for New England’s depth chart to bottom out.
The Patriots are in the midst of an arduous rebuild — one brought upon by years of woeful drafting and free-agent pickups.
Vrabel will get the Patriots back to some level of respectability in a year where they double their win total — while key cogs like Maye and others continue to showcase promise as franchise fixtures.
New England does come up short of a playoff berth this season, but the 2025 campaign is ultimately all about righting the ship and getting this franchise on the right track.
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