Heading into the season, the Patriots are grabbing attention thanks to their highly-rated defensive backfield and their less than stellar offensive skill groups.

In his 2025, “ positional group rankings ‚” ESPN’s Mike Clay gave New England an average overall ranking, placing them at 16th in the NFL entering this season.

Clay does make sure to emphasize that his rankings are not about how each group will fare in the future, but just how they stack up for the 2025 season.

He broke his rankings down into 10 different groups, five for each side of the ball.

On offense, the Patriots received their highest mark for the tight end group, led by Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper. That unit landed at 11th in Clay’s rankings.

Next was New England’s quarterbacks and running backs, with both groups

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