An all-around disappointing season for the New England Patriots has led to an endless blame game from outsiders. Who is most responsible for the Patriots’ current predicament—the coaches, quarterback, receivers or offensive line?
The easy answer is there’s no singular individual responsible for the team imploding and falling to 2-8 on the season. It takes a village to create the colossal failure the Patriots have become this year.
With that said, there are certain players that have disappointed more than others. These are the players that were expected to play major roles in helping the Patriots turn things around from last season.
Yet, those expectations have only led to further disappointment for a franchise that’s unrecognizable from the perennial contender that reigned during the Tom Brady era.
Here are the eight most disappointing players for the Patriots this season:
8
OL Mike Onwenu
A year ago, Mike Onwenu was believed to be one of the best offensive guards in the NFL. Patriots fans would have been quick to dub him as the team’s best offensive lineman.
He was playing lights out.
There was a belief that he would take things to the next level in 2023 with it being the final year in his rookie contract. It’s his big chance to convince either the Patriots or another team that he’s worthy of the big-money deal.
Instead, this has been one his worst seasons to date. His overall offensive grade has dipped to 69.6, according to Pro Football Focus, with declines in run-blocking and pass protection.
It’s important to keep in mind that he came into the season after undergoing ankle surgery, and the team has moved him over to right tackle recently. So this could end up being more of a case of bad timing than a performance issue.
7
K Chad Ryland
Chad Ryland is a rookie kicker, but being a fourth-round draft pick as a specialist comes with high expectations.
Coach Bill Belichick believed in Ryland so much that he actually traded up to draft the kicker out of Maryland, when he already had a reliable veteran in Nick Folk on the roster.
That decision has blown up in Belichick’s face so far with Folk continuing his consistent ways with the Tennessee Titans and Ryland sinking all the way to the bottom of the league. So far, New York Giants’ Graham Gano is the only kicker with a worse PFF grade than Ryland, who missed a 35-yard field goal in the loss to the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday.
6
LB Josh Uche
Josh Uche was supposed to be the one leading the sack party when Matthew Judon went down with a torn biceps. But things have been too quiet to be considered a party of any sort for the fourth-year linebacker.
The trade deadline came and went, and the Patriots didn’t move Uche. His snaps have diminished, and he only has two sacks in eight game appearances.
There’s no questioning his pure pass-rushing talent, but things tend to go off the rails when opposing offenses run the football at him on early downs. Uche might benefit more in a defense where he can just pin his ears back and get after the quarterback. It just feels like he’s limited and being wasted with the Patriots.
The fit isn’t right, no matter how badly the two sides want to make it work.
5
WR Tyquan Thornton
This was supposed to be the breakout year for Tyquan Thornton. Yet, in three games played, he only has three receptions for 15 yards. He’s barely even getting on the field at this point.
Thornton has game-breaking speed, but there isn’t much outside of that to scare opposing defenses. He’s a one-trick pony in the NFL. The coaching staff in New England deserves some of the blame for failing to develop him properly.
It isn’t too late for him to figure things out, but it’s late enough where the Patriots need to start accepting the possibility that the second-round draft pick might be a bust.
4
WR DeVante Parker
DeVante Parker was supposed to be the No. 1 receiver for the Patriots. It isn’t like the team had a bunch of outside options for the offense to push the ball downfield.
Make no mistake, Parker is clearly a really good player, but the consistency isn’t there for him to be a top receiving threat. There might be four or five games where he really pops on the field, and then there’s complete silence. You could find his face plastered on the side of a milk carton.
The third tight end on the Patriots’ depth chart, Pharaoh Brown, has more receiving yards than Parker this season. So far, the veteran wideout has only mustered 15 catches for 158 yards and no touchdowns.
3
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
For the Patriots, JuJu Smith-Schuster was supposed to be an upgrade over Jakobi Meyers, who signed a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders in the offseason.
The numbers aren’t even close to being comparable. Despite all of the shake-ups in Las Vegas, Meyers has hauled in 42 passes for 463 yards and five touchdowns, while Smith-Schuster only has 22 catches for 149 yards and one touchdown.
It’s a huge misfire by the Patriots for two players that signed nearly identical baseline deals.
2
CB Jack Jones
Jack Jones went from being one of the most promising defensive backs in the league to ending up on waivers. It’s a wild turn of events for a player that burst onto the scene by serving up a pick-six to legendary quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Jones’ play slipped on the field, and he had way too many off-the-field issues as well. In June, he was arrested for gun-related charges, and then he reportedly showed up late to a meeting midseason, which is a big no-no in New England. With his tardiness and performance issues, he was ultimately benched in back-to-back games.
Unfortunately, his attitude towards the situation never changed, and the team ultimately made the decision to cut him. It was a disappointing end of what looked like a promising relationship between the two sides.
1
QB Mac Jones
Mac Jones is playing behind a banged-up offensive line with his most reliable receiving weapon being a rookie sixth-round draft pick. It’s no secret that the Patriots failed miserably at building a team around their franchise quarterback.
But Jones has also been bad, too.
There’s no excusing the bad footwork in the pocket, horrible decision-making and blinders when going through his progressions with pressure in his face. We’ve seen enough from Jones to reinforce the fact that he isn’t the right quarterback for the job in New England.
If anything, this season proved the naysayers were right all along. It’s time for the Patriots to move on.
