We’re running a mailbag on Fridays during the season. If you have questions on the Patriots, NFL, or want gripe about past answers, email cmason@masslive.com or tweet @bychrismason. Now let’s get to this week’s questions!
Who should be the top free agent target in the offseason? — Keith J.
Tee Higgins, provided he makes it to free agency.
The Bengals might franchise Higgins if they can make it work with their salary cap, but if the game-changer hits the open market, the Patriots should do everything in their power to bring him to Foxborough. Still just 24 years old, Higgins is easily the top wide receiver in this free agent class.
Presuming the Patriots take a quarterback early in the draft, they’re going to want to give him a real target to throw to. A bonafide No. 1 wideout makes life a lot easier as rookie passers assimilate to life in the NFL. At 6-foot-4, 219 pounds, Higgins gives the Patriots a real threat that they simply don’t have on their roster right now; Higgins is what DeVante Parker was billed as.
It’s understandable that some are wary of Higgins’ back-to-back 1000-yard seasons because he’s been the No. 2 to Ja’Marr Chase in Cincinnati. However, before Chase was in the picture, Higgins caught 67 passes for 908 yards and six touchdowns on a bad Bengals team during his rookie season — and six of those games were quarterbacked by Brandon Allen and Ryan Finley.
While there may be other options on the market like Michael Pittman and Mike Evans, Higgins has easily the highest ceiling both in 2024 and long-term.
And now that I grabbed your attention with the big name wideout, the Patriots should also zero in on one of their own free agents: Mike Onwenu. The homegrown offensive lineman has done nothing but impress since arriving in New England. With the tackle position looking incredibly shaky, the Patriots should lock Onwenu up long-term, or at the very least franchise him if that can’t be accomplished.
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Keeping age and contract situation in mind, would you rather have Russell Wilson or Bailey Zappe as your starting QB? — Matt
Zappe — and that has very little to do with Zappe.
Wilson’s contract is one of the worst in professional sports right now; Denver is going to have to pay the piper at some point and eat a ton of dead money. At 35 years old, some of Wilson’s underlying numbers are cause for concern, as are his leadership skills, and neither quarterback is sniffing a Super Bowl any time soon.
So ultimately, I’d rather take Zappe and the salary cap flexibility. If things aren’t working out, cutting him to go in a different direction would be a clean break, as opposed to Wilson.
What comes first for the Patriots offseason? Settling the coaching situation or retooling the roster? — Ed H.
Coaching situation.
Need to know who is picking the groceries before jumping in the car and heading to Wegmans.
Better strategy this offseason: Draft Caleb Williams or Drake Maye and build around them, or trade back, fill the multiple holes so the situation is better for a future young QB? — Nessy
Quarterback, quarterback, quarterback.
Other holes can be patched in free agency, but when there’s a chance to take a franchise quarterback, teams need to jump at it. It takes 11 players to make an offense hum, but is there any doubt who the most important of those 11 is? Patriots fans know better than most how much a great quarterback can elevate those around him.
It’s not often the Patriots will be picking in the top three — hopefully, anyway — and they need to capitalize on the chance to get their quarterback of the future (and on a rookie deal, no less).
How do you feel about correctly calling the exact score to Chiefs-Pats last week? Has that ever happened before? Please tell me you bought a lottery ticket on the way home. Can you please tell us the final score of the Broncos-Pats game this week? — Matt K.
To borrow a phrase from Billy Madison: “I am the smartest man alive!”
No that’s never happened before, and no, I didn’t buy a lottery ticket on my way home. Thus, I’m still here answering your wonderful mailbag questions. Thanks for allowing me the victory lap though.
This week I’ll go Broncos 20, Patriots 18. Yes, it’s a weird number, but weird things always seem to happen to the Patriots in Denver. I think it’ll be another grind it out kind of game where Bill Belichick’s team plays hard and hangs around, but ultimately, they fall short — which is probably best case scenario for them.
Who on today’s Patriots roster would be the most fun to grab a holiday drink with? My pick would be Judon, but you see these guys on a regular basis — Mike M.
Judon is a good call, but I’d go Jabrill Peppers.
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