Expectations are through the roof for the New England Patriots in 2026. That comes with the territory when you’re coming off a Super Bowl run. What expectations don’t mean, however, is that a team is without any faults.
One major concern all offseason for the Patriots has been the pass rush. This is after they put together a fairly mediocre effort getting to the quarterback in 2025, with 35 as a team. That’s just tied for 22nd in the NFL a season ago.
So, this offseason, the Patriots made a major effort to improve on that side of the ball. They selected Gabe Jacas in the second round, while signing Dre’Mont Jones. That came as they also let K’Lavon Chaisson walk.
ESPN Sent a Warning About the New England Patriots Pass Rush
Despite the team’s best efforts, the pass rush still seems like a major concern for the Patriots just a couple of days before the season is set to begin.
Rookie Jacas dealt with unforeseen injury issues after the Patriots drafted him. That led to him taking a long time to both sign his rookie contract and get on the field for New England. Once he was on the field, Jacas struggled.
Then, Harold Landry continues to battle a knee injury that limited him at times in 2025. He’ll begin the season on IR, meaning he’s going to miss at least four games. With Chaisson gone, that means the top two Patriots in terms of sacks from 2025 are gone. Now, their top returning sacker is Elijah Ponder, who had just four.
In that respect, it’s no wonder that the pass rush is going to be a major concern for the Patriots. Mike Reiss of ESPN explained.
“Pass rush. Will moving on from K’Lavon Chaisson (team-high 7.5 sacks last season) and signing Dre’Mont Jones to take his place at OLB be an upgrade? And with veteran OLB Harold Landry III opening the year on the PUP list, is 2025 undrafted free agent Elijah Ponder ready to fill the void? It might be asking too much to expect big things from second-round pick Gabe Jacas at OLB after he wasn’t around the team all spring (knee procedure) and signed a couple of days into training camp to get a late start,” Reiss wrote.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has been very open that his concern with the team is its depth. So, the solution is to keep developing players. Hopefully, that includes at pass rusher.
“We have to continue to develop those late-round picks, the guys that we can find that can be interior offensive linemen, that can be special teams linebackers, which is what we’re hoping when you look at Nam[di Obiazor] and Khalil [Jacobs],” Vrabel said. “Drafted some edge guys that you can develop and that maybe haven’t played necessarily this 3-4 defense in the past but that you’re developing.”
A Prediction on the Patriots Defense
There is another solution besides developing more players that the Patriots could try to address their pass rush. That’s to make a trade.
So, ESPN’s Seth Walder predicted New England would do exactly that, adding a pass rusher before the Trade Deadline.
“The Patriots will trade for an edge rusher before the trade deadline,” Walder wrote. “This is a team with Super Bowl aspirations and what should be an explosive passing offense that will win them games. But Landry and Jones aren’t a good enough pair at this stage of their career. I think at some point New England will bring in reinforcements.”
The big question then becomes who the Patriots might trade for and what they send back. Not to mention, why wouldn’t they have made that move during the offseason?
Patriots Given Warning on Lack of Pass Rush Ahead of 2026 Season