While fans have seen the Buffalo Bills get stronger on the defensive side of the ball through the first wave of free agency, they have also had to watch the New England Patriots gain some help as well. For what seemed like forever, the Patriots were not gaining serious talent in free agency. However, under Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf, it's a different look in Foxborough.
On offense, New England has acquired notable players like OL Alijah Vera-Tucker, WR Romeo Doubs, and FB Reggie Gilliam. On the defense, they have gained S Kevin Byard, DE Dre’Mont Jones, and LB K.J. Britt. With Drake Maye still being on a rookie deal, the Patriots have a lot more flexibility to add to the roster.
From 2020-2024, the Bills had ruled the AFC East but they lost it to the Patriots last season. Mike Vrabel has turned the organization around from what it was in the post-Tom Brady era and now they will be looking to compete with the Bills every single season within the division. New England still has plenty of cap space and they could continue to add more help.
Bills could see Patriots add Pro Bowl tight end to help Drake Maye
Gary Davenport from Bleacher Report listed best fits for some of the top free agents that are still available and Davenport has the Patriots as an ideal fit for tight end David Njoku, who was recently with the Cleveland Browns. Njoku is a Pro Bowl tight end who is one of the more underrated tight ends in the league.
Even with having terrible quarterback situations in Cleveland, Njoku has been as productive as possible. Despite missing atleast six games the last two seasons each, he still has had 9 receiving touchdowns.
With Josh McDaniels at offensive coordinator, having a valuable pass-catching tight end is important because it opens up the playbook for New England’s offense. Last season, the Bills defense had their major troubles against New England to where they lost on primetime at home, and then went down 24-7 early in Week 15 last season.
Even though the Bills are switching up their defensive scheme under Jim Leonhard, they are still going to have some growing pains and if the Pats were to acquire someone like Njoku, Buffalo would have to get creative on how to limit him because he is a tight end who has been overlooked because of the situation he was in with Cleveland.