The Patriots opened the NFL's negotiation window with two under-the-radar signings, adding veteran edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones and FB Reggie Gilliam on Monday, according to reports from NFL Network.
Although the first day of free agency didn't have the same fireworks as a year ago, the Patriots roster is in a much different place than the one head coach Mike Vrabel inherited last offseason. At this point last year, New England had several holes to fill coming off a second consecutive 4-13 campaign. Now, they're the defending AFC Champs, who are returning the majority of their roster that played in Super Bowl LX. So, it's not surprising that the approach is different from the 19 free-agent contracts tallying over $192 million in guarantees that helped spark one of the biggest one-year turnarounds in NFL history last spring.
That said, Vrabel and personnel chief Eliot Wolf still have work to do. With the Patriots reportedly planning on releasing star WR Stefon Diggs at the start of the league year on Wednesday, the Pats need to replace Diggs' production as their No. 1 receiver. Along with finding a coverage-dictating engine to the passing game, New England reportedly dealt C Garrett Bradbury to the Bears, opening the door for 2025 third-rounder Jared Wilson to move to his natural position. Wilson likely moving to the pivot is the right approach, but the Patriots need to fill the hole at left guard and continue to build depth on the offensive line.
The overreaction or need for instant gratification in free agency is part of the deal in sports. Fans and pundits alike grow restless if the team doesn't instantly improve its roster by taking part in the initial wave involving high-priced free agents, and the Patriots have to get aggressive at some point to upgrade the supporting cast around star QB Drake Maye. However, the additions of Gilliam and Jones addressed two roster spots that Vrabel and Wolf highlighted as areas of need at the NFL Scouting Combine last month.
Defensively, the Patriots top brass identified edge rusher as a major need. Last season, New England didn't get enough pressure from their standard four-man rushes. When they didn't blitz, the Pats ranked just 16th in pressure rate at 31.4%. Their pressure rate rose to 48.5%, fifth-best in the NFL, when they brought extra rushers, the third-largest delta between non-blitz and blitz pressure rate (+17.4%). When you have a good secondary, you can afford to ramp up the blitzing like New England did in the postseason. Still, that's a tough way to live. Plus, pressure-leader K'Lavon Chaisson remains unsigned as an unrestricted free agent.
Along with edge rusher, Vrabel also wants to get stronger offensively, specifically pointing to the younger offensive players on the roster developing their bodies in an interview with Patriots.com. From this perspective, Vrabel's comments about players improving their play strength this offseason spoke to his desire to play a more physical brand of football. New England ranked just 25th in rush EPA last season, which isn't the norm for Vrabel or OC Josh McDaniels in their coaching history.
By adding Gilliam and Jones, the Patriots began improving their rush offense and building out their EDGE depth, two areas of emphasis this offseason. Again, they still need to make more impactful additions, specifically a pass-catcher or two on offense, but these signings are often overlooked in March and then pay dividends in December and January, as we saw last season. Let's break down the film on what Gilliam and Jones will bring to the Patriots next season.
FB Reggie Gilliam
To start things off, let's make one thing clear: I will never brush off adding an impact lead-blocker into the Patriots offense. The fullback is back in Foxborough and that is a good thing.
Heading into the offseason, we highlighted that it was a strong free-agent fullback class with Gilliam (PFF's highest-rated fullback) joining six-time Pro Bowler Patrick Ricard and Chargers FB Alec Ingold as UFAs. New England opted to sign the 28-year-old Gilliam, a more athletic move blocker who, at 6-feet, 244 pounds, was a fixture inside the Bills zone-based run scheme. Buffalo led the league in rushing with the NFL's rushing king, James Cook, last season, and Gilliam played a role in paving the way for Cook with a 20.8% snap rate in 2025.
Before we get into Gilliam's film, McDaniels's history with fullbacks is well-documented in his stints as the Patriots offensive play-caller and his time in Las Vegas. Last season, New England featured two-back formations on 22.4% of its offensive plays, down roughly six percent from McDaniels' full season as Raiders head coach (28.6%) and his 2021 season with the Patriots (28.3%). From 2021-22, McDaniel's offenses led the league in two-back usage, while New England was second in two-back formation rate in 2025.
Last season, Jack Westover, a tight end, transitioned into a fullback role when undrafted rookie Brock Lampe suffered a season-ending injury in training camp. McDaniels featured the fullback slightly less last season because the Pats weren't effective running the ball out of two-back personnel. New England averaged just 3.1 yards per rush with an 8.3% explosive run rate and -0.04 EPA per rush with a fullback on the field. The Patriots were also just 11th in EPA per pass out of two-back personnel, so they weren't overly productive with creating play-action yards or mismatches when they went to fullback groupings.
Ultimately, the goal is to run the ball well out of two-back groupings to set up favorable passing opportunities through run+play-action sequencing. New England ('21) and Vegas ('22) averaged 4.6 yards per rush with a fullback on the field under McDaniels, which created opportunities to marry play-action plays and out-formation teams who were forced into heavy defensive personnel against run packages, creating a sustainable early-down base offense as a core concept for McDaniels.
Last season, Gilliam and the Bills ability to run the ball effectively out of two-back personnel led to solid production. For instance, Buffalo liked featuring Gilliam as a lead blocker on their zone windback schemes, a run concept designed to catch defenses overplaying outside zone runs. Above, the Bills use a counter step to get the defense leaning toward the right, then wind back Gilliam and TE Dawson Knox across the formation, creating blocking advantages to the new strong side of the formation. Gilliam gets up on the play-side linebacker with a good lead block and springs Cook for a 64-yard touchdown.
Gilliam was also an effective lead-blocker on the Bills outside zone schemes, often getting out in space to block the play-side end so the frontside tight end could climb to the second level. In all, Buffalo averaged 4.9 yards per rush out of their two-back groupings with Gilliam on the field, with the Pats new fullback ranking 10th in run-blocking grade among non-offensive linemen (73.5).
With the Bills producing positive plays on the ground out of two-back formations, Buffalo was really able to do damage through the air. The Bills averaged 8.8 yards per pass play while adding +0.51 expected points with Gilliam on the field. Mostly, they created explosive plays off play-action, marrying their run concepts with play-action fakes that put defenses in binds.
For example, here's the Bills mimicking the same windback staple that they run routinely with Gilliam on the field. The presentation from the formation to the blocking looks the same to the defense, causing the second level to false-step toward the run-action, which allows the tight end to get behind the linebackers for a chunk gain off the crossing concept.
Buffalo would also call boots off their zone-actions with Gilliam on the field to sell the run. In this clip, Bills QB Josh Allen keeps the ball after executing a hard play-action fake that initially looks like an outside zone run, with the tight ends releasing late on the double seams. Kansas City's defense bites hard on the play-fake, and both tight ends are open for a big play through the air.
The Bills would also use their run personnel groupings to manipulate defenses to create favorable matchups. Here, Buffalo puts 22 personnel on the field (2 RB, 2 TE, 1 WR), and Atlanta matches with its base defense. Once they got the Falcons into big personnel, the Bills spread them out with Gilliam flexed out wide (bottom of the screen). Gilliam draws the matchup with a corner while slot receiver Khalil Shakir gets a safety, and it's an easy 9-yard completion.
When the Patriots have had an impact fullback on the roster, we've seen McDaniels leverage great lead-blockers in similar ways. Typically, McDaniels is more gap-scheme heavy with the fullback being featured in lead (ISO) plays and two-back counter/power schemes with pullers, but the idea behind the fullback is the same. Plus, the Pats dipped their toe more in zone schemes to get Maye on the move last season.
The other sneaky element that Gilliam could bring to the table is his role in the Bills version of the tush push. Gilliam was the primary "pusher" who helped Allen get across the line, with the Bills having an 89.5% success rate on sneaks (fifth in the NFL). The Patriots were only 75% successful on sneaks, 15th in the NFL, so maybe Gilliam can help there as well.
Last season, the Patriots had to get creative with their two-back groupings, a staple of McDaniels's offense. They played Westover out of position, with mixed results, and even used NT Khyiris Tonga as a lead blocker in short-yardage situations to get more push. With Gilliam, McDaniels will have a proper fullback.
EDGE Dre'Mont Jones
As mentioned, the Patriots were going to dip into the edge rusher market at some level during this free agency, with Vrabel and Wolf both emphasizing the need in Indy last month.
New England made its first signing early in the negotiation window by reportedly inking Jones to a three-year deal. There were rumblings that the Patriots had interest in the 29-year-old at last year's trade deadline, when Jones was traded by the Titans to the Ravens. For clarity purposes, Jones didn't overlap with Vrabel in Tennessee, playing only nine games for the Titans in 2025. Jones does have a possible Vrabel connection as a former Ohio State standout, though, giving him some familiarity with Jones as a player.
With the Titans and Ravens, Jones tallied 51 total pressures and career-highs in sacks (7.0) and QB hits (15) last season. He ranked 28th out of 62 qualified rushers in pass-rush win rate (12.9%), which was better than Chaisson (11.9%) and Landry (8.7%), the Patriots primary starters. According to Pro Football Focus, Jones's 15 quarterback hits were tied for ninth among edge defenders, one ahead of Micah Parsons. Jones has an above-average get-off time (0.88s, league average - 0.97s) and logged 19 quick pressures (pressures in under 2.5s).
Stylistically, Jones is a bit different from the prototype we've discussed for New England, which Chaisson (6-3, 255), Landry (6-2, 252), and 2025 draft pick Bradyn Swinson (6-4, 255) roughly fit into. According to the Ravens website, Jones played at 6-3, 265 pounds last season. Entering the league, the former third-rounder was heavier, profiling as more of a three-technique interior rusher at 280 pounds. It appears that he has dropped weight to play more on the edge, where he converts speed-to-power and uses ghost/dip rushes to complement his bull rush. Jones also differs from other Pats rushers with his ability to reduce inside in pass-rush fronts, playing 13% of his snaps at DT, going back to his college roots.
As an edge rusher, Jones logged an 11% pressure rate by building off his bull rush. As a more rigid athlete, Jones is at his best by creating space between himself and the tackle to get downhill, generating force by converting his speed into power. Above, he goes right through Packers LT Darian Kenard from a wide alignment, which is where the Patriots EDGEs typically line up.
With his power forcing tackles to brace for contact, Jones can create short corners by baiting tackles into early anchors, then dip around the edge to apply pressure. Above, Jones sacks Maye in the Patriots win over the Ravens with OT Vederian Lowe gearing up to absorb his bull rush. When Lowe sits back, Jones uses his speed and bend to tightly turn the corner, then shows off some closing burst to chase down Maye as he looks to leave the pocket.
On the outside, Jones is winning mostly with power. However, he's a really effective interior rusher because his quickness shines when rushing vs. guards. Jones's pressure rate increased to 14.3% when he rushed at defensive tackle, using a series of fakes (crossovers), swims, and double swipes to get on guards' edges.
Lastly, Jones is also an effective pick artist on stunt schemes. The Ravens usually have their outside rushers slant inside to set picks on blockers, allowing their wrapping defensive tackles to execute their stunt schemes. Oftentimes, that leads to pressures for the pick-setter rather than the wrap player, since those schemes are difficult to pass off with Jones chucking the blocker off his rails.
From this perspective, there's a bit of projection with Jones in terms of his run defense and opportunities to rush inside over the guards. Baltimore mostly used Jones as a pass-rusher, with only 25.6% of his snaps coming against the run. He appears to be physical enough to set the edge, play through blocks, and stand-up pullers, but he only had a 3.6% run stop rate last season (47th out of 51 qualified EDGE). Due to having standout DTs Christian Barmore and Milton Williams, Pats edge rushers only logged 62 snaps at defensive tackle in 2025 (3.5%), with second-year pro Elijah Ponder operating as a "spinner" over the center at times.
We'll defer to Vrabel that he has a vision for Jones that will translate into a full-time role, as the Pats HC got the most out of the team's free-agent class last season. Having said that, Jones being an effective interior pass-rusher is a big part of his game, so New England will need to find ways to get him opportunities to rush alongside Barmore and Williams to get the most out of him, which wasn't as easy to do out of their four-man pass rush fronts last season (and probably led to trading Keion White to the 49ers).
Overall, the Patriots weren't as active on the opening day of free agency this offseason, but they also had fewer holes on the roster compared to last offseason. New England started by adding a solid edge rusher in Jones and upgrading at fullback. Obviously, there's still a lot of time for them to address their other needs.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
