New England

Patriots

Tavai’s base money in the new deal is $15 million with $6 million in incentives. Tavai, a former second round draft pick by the Lions, had career highs in tackles (110) and tackles for loss (5) in 2023. He’s entering his fourth season with the Patriots.

The Patriots used the No. 37 pick in this year’s draft to select Polk and bolster a wide receiving corps that’s been underwhelming for the last several seasons. The 6-foot-1, 203-pound receiver has been described as a “self-starter” by head coach Jerod Mayo, and Reiss notes that Polk and rookie Drake Maye have put in a lot of extra work after practice. Polk broke out for 69-1,159-9 in his final season at Washington, splitting time both outside and in the slot. With second-year receiver Demario Douglas expected to play primarily in the slot this season, it’s possible Polk plays on the outside early and often for a team that’s in desperate need of young, productive players in the passing game. Polk is worth a late-round dart throw in deep PPR leagues, but fantasy managers shouldn’t bank on an overly-productive rookie campaign.

Brissett, the journeyman who last started for the Browns in 2022, “took all of the first-team reps, and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt made clear that wasn’t a fluke, referring to Brissett as the starter,” according to Graff. First-rounder Drake Maybe, Graff said, will have to be the “clear winner” in a training camp competition with Brissett if he’s going to take over as New England’s opening day starter. “If the competition between them is even close, Brissett is probably under center in the opener,” Graff said. Brissett was solid as Cleveland’s starter in 2022, ranking third among all QBs in completion rate over expected and throwing 12 touchdowns along with six interceptions through ten starts. Maye will likely get the starting job once the Patriots’ season goes sideways and they are no longer in playoff contention.

Douglas was a sixth-round pick of the Patriots last season and went on to lead them with 561 receiving yards. The speedy receiver played 67.7 percent of his snaps from the slot and has a chance to once again lead a receiver room that returns many familiar faces. Currently going in the later rounds of fantasy drafts, Douglas has the making of a PPR steal if the Patriots’ offense can take a leap in their first year under head coach Jerod Mayo and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. Douglas had four double-digit PPR performances last season, playing in a broken Pats offense as a rookie.

Stevenson said earlier this month that he thought he and the Patriots were “pretty close” to an extension. Now, the 26-year-old back is under contract through the 2028 season and set to lead the Patriots’ backfield under a new regime for the foreseeable future. Stevenson has rushed for 2,265 yards and 14 touchdowns in his three seasons with the team, adding another 121 catches for 782 yards and one touchdown. He averaged a career-worst 4.4 yards per touch last season, but the team is hoping for a much-improved offense with Mac Jones now gone and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt taking over. Stevenson could be challenged by Antonio Gibson for third-down touches this season but still profiles as an RB2 in PPR leagues. The Patriots are giving Stevenson $17 million in fully guaranteed money on this deal, which also includes an $8 million signing bonus and $12 million worth of incentives.

This one shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Thornton, a former second-round pick of the Patriots in 2022, has been slowed by injuries and offered little offense upside when healthy. Through 22 career games, he’s caught just 35 passes for 338 yards and two scores, with most of that production coming in his rookie season. In addition to playing under a new coaching staff, Thornton is also set to compete against rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker. Polk is already locked into a roster spot as a second-round pick, and the Patriots used a fourth-round pick on Baker, which should all but secure his spot. Outside of one or two depth options, the Patriots’ wide receiver room feels fairly in place. It may take a camp injury or two for Thornton to stick on the roster come cut day.

“I think it’s important,” Maye said. “It’s picking up little things every day.” This kind of story is often an offseason practice contrivance, but it’s easy to spot the significance in this instance. Maye is the Patriots’ new franchise player and Polk sits atop a ludicrously thin receiver depth chart. Any success they might have on offense this season is going to depend in large part on this connection. It’s a great sign they are already working overtime to establish it.

The Patriots used the No. 37 pick on Polk in hopes of bolstering a wide receiver unit that is amongst the worst in the league. The former Washington Husky caught 69 passes for 1,159 yards and nine touchdowns last season and was instrumental in leading them to a national championship title berth against Michigan. Polk has a chance to immediately earn snaps out the outside opposite Kendrick Bourne, who is still working his way back from a torn ACL suffered in Week 8. Bourne hopes to be ready for training camp, but Polk should continue to see plenty of offseason reps in his absence.

Brissett also added that the team has seen Maye’s “progression come alive” in OTAs and at mandatory minicamp. Last week, Maye earned some reps with the second-team offense and was working with the same group on Monday when the team opened its first day of minicamp. Head coach Jerod Mayo said we shouldn’t read too much into who Maye is taking snaps with at this time, but it’s hard to ignore what we’re seeing. It’s too early to know whether or not Maye will threaten Brissett for the Week 1 nod out of training camp, but if he’s already moved past Bailey Zappe, that leaves only one more hurdle for the No. 3 overall pick to clear in training camp.

We’ll see how things go from here. Stevenson turned 26 this offseason and is coming off his worst year as a pro. Playing in a broken Patriots offense didn’t do him any favors, but Stevenson averaged a career-low 4.0 yards per carry and 4.4 yards per touch before an ankle injury officially ended his season. Stevenson has been valuable as both a runner and pass-catcher since being drafted by the Patriots in 2021. His 121 receptions are the 13th-most of any running back over the last three years, but he’s at risk of losing some passing down work to Antonio Gibson, who joined the team as a free agent this offseason. Stevenson has gone as a low-end RB2 in fantasy drafts for much of the offseason. The addition of Gibson, coupled with him being in a Patriots offense with low expectations, is presumably baked into that price, but it’s fair to question whether or not he’s going at too high a cost at this point. Stevenson is in the final year of his contract and is set to earn just over $3.3 million this season.