There’s an old sports saying that there’s no one way to build a contender. The Seahawks took 13 starters in the last 4 drafts. In nearly a complete opposite strategy, New England signed 11 starters this offseason. That’s an incredible hit rate, especially for a roster that needed an influx in talent. Let’s look at these moves…
Milton Williams – Starting DT – 4/$104m
Milton Williams was famously doubted on draft day by Eagles consultant Tom Donahoe.1 Since that moment, Eagles fans galvanized around Williams and proudly touted his future with each year of improvement. He’s our guy, even if he’s a Patriot (he is the only one). Last year was the official coming out party that culminated in a fantastic Super Bowl. The Eagles were unlikely to resign him anyway with a salary cap crunch brewing, but when he showed out in the big game, there was little expectation that the Eagles would even check in with his agent. Then, DAMN! When Williams signed his contract, everyone was legitimately stunned. The DT position has exploded in recent years, but no one expected Williams to get that bag. He’s the top 5 in damn near every salary metric for his position. What Williams brought to the Patriots defense is legitimacy. Having a great DT helps everyone on the defense and New England now has two with Christian Barmore. The Patriots gambled on Williams continuing his upward trajectory and it looks like that gambled paid off.
Stefon Diggs – Starting WR – 3/$63.5m
Diggs was 31 years old and coming off a down year in Houston when the Patriots came in with their golden deal. While the rest of the league thought he could be washed, they bet on him having some more good years left in him. The former All-Pro responded with an 85 catch, 1000 yard season and all of the sure handed savior grabs a young Drake Maye could ask for. While the Patriots saved Diggs in free agency, he saved them on the field. Off the field, well that’s different.2
Carlton Davis – Starting CB – 3/$54m
After spending 1 year in Detroit, Davis was close to resigning with the Lions. Apparently the deal was close to done, but contract language caused him to sign with the Patriots instead. The Lions pivoted to DJ Reed for slightly less money. Unfortunately for the blue and silver, Reed missed 6 games to injury. Davis meanwhile started all 17 games and gave the Patriots one of the best starting CB tandems in the league along with Christian Gonzalez.
Harold Landry – Starting OLB – 3/$43.5m
Landry has been a consistent sack threat throughout his career, including an impressive 50.5 sacks in 6 seasons with Tennessee. He came to New England and picked up where he left off, notching 8.5 sacks and 19 QB hits in just 15 games. Considering Josh Sweat signed with the Cardinals for 4/$76m despite lesser numbers, this ended up being a steal for the level of production.
Robert Spillane – Starting LB – 3/$33m
Spillane graded out as the 12th best LB in the league according to PFF. In just 13 games, he had 100 tackles, a forced fumble, and 2 picks. Basically, he was all over the ball and giving the Patriots everything they could hope for with the investment. Now he’s calling out Tom Brady and causing a whole generation of Pats fans to love him. Very, very Boston.
Morgan Moses – Starting RT – 3/$24m
Moses joined his 3rd team in 3 years and provided a bargain price for starter production. On the season he gave up one sack and had one holding penalty. He’s 34 years old! That’s an incredible win for the front office and great protection for their young QB.
Garrett Bradbury – Starting C – 2/$9.5m
Bradbury played the whole damn season, didn’t have a penalty and didn’t give up a sack. He wasn’t the best center in the league, but he also didn’t cause any problems and at less than $5m a year, that’s another huge win. For comparison, the Eagles gave Cam Jurgens the 2nd biggest contract for a center in history and we are currently trying to cope with the idea of getting rid of him and eating his huge cap hit. Sometimes to win, you don’t need stars, you just need people to do their jobs.
Mack Hollins – Starting WR – 2/$8.4m
Mack Hollins is the other Super Bowl champion on the Patriots along with Milton Williams. Hollins has always had the body and attributes to be a deep threat, but was on his 5th team in 5 years this season. He may have finally found a home. His 46 catches and 2 TDs don’t seem like much, but his 51 yards against the Broncos in the NFC Championship game represented about 60% of the Patriots total receiving yards in the game. He adds a different but reliable dimension to this offense.
K’Lavon Chaisson – Starting OLB – 1/$3m
Chaisson might be the free agent MVP of the team. His career started out rough and he looked like a total draft bust. Hell, he IS a draft bust. He washed out of Jacksonville, the team that drafted him 20th overall back in 2020, signed with Carolina, was released before the season, joined the Raiders practice squad, played a year and didn’t return, then received just a lowly 1-year deal with the Patriots. He then proceeded to have 33 pressures, 18 QB hits and 7.5 sacks! Where the hell did that come from? Championship teams NEED breakouts like this to succeed. Look at Zack Baun last year with the Eagles. To get that kind of unexpected starter production for almost no investment is like winning the sports lottery. Check out the Philly lottery tickets below…
Khyiris Tonga – Starting NT – 1/$2.1m
We are getting in the weeds now, but Tonga signed for basically nothing and anchored the Patriots’ run defense. Before New England, he played for 4 teams in 5 years including 2 practice squads. For basically the league minimum, the Pats get a guy holding down the middle of their defensive line for 40% of the team’s snaps. That’s getting a vet for essentially a rookie contract.
Jaylinn Hawkins – Starting S – 1/$1.8m
Hawkins is the only one of the above bunch that was on the Patriots last year. After bouncing around the league, he played well enough to at least be invited back. He rewarded the team’s loyalty with 15 starts and 4 interceptions.
The Patriots hit on their big deals and then hit on their small ones too. Of all their deals signed last year, the biggest one to not make this list was Josh Dobbs. At 2/$8m, he’s the team’s QB2 and in a great deal for a backup QB. Needless to say, free agency worked out damn well. Building a contender through free agency is not supposed to work. Don’t tell that to the Patriots though.
- The Draft cameras caught Donahoe refusing to congratulate Eagles GM Howie Roseman on the pick. He was later fired ↩︎
- Even more surprising is that he made it through the season. Diggs started out the year caught on a boat with what sure as hell looked like cocaine then finished the season with an assault and battery charge stemming from not paying his personal chef. Naturally, nothing came of the former and he won’t be arraigned on charges for the latter until after the Super Bowl ↩︎
Philly Front Office 
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