Where Patriots Stand In AFC Following Initial Free Agency Period

The Patriots didn’t make flashy moves during the first week of NFL free agency, and it didn’t bode well in their futures market.

New England agreed to a deal with JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mike Gesicki to add to its new-look offense under Bill O’Brien. The Pats also missed out on the top offensive lineman on the market, but they remain linked to Jerry Jeudy and DeAndre Hopkins in the trade market.

But the Buffalo Bills still are one of the top teams in the AFC, the Miami Dolphins acquired Jalen Ramsey from the Los Angeles Rams and the New York Jets will acquire Aaron Rodgers. The Patriots need to improve significantly to keep up with the division as it looks on paper, but oddsmakers don’t see a great 2023 for New England.

Here was how major sportsbooks viewed the Patriots in futures markets after the initial run of free agency:

Super Bowl
DraftKings: +6000
FanDuel: +6500
BetMGM: +6600
Caesars: +7000

AFC
DraftKings: +3000
FanDuel: +3100
BetMGM: +4400
Caesars: +4000

AFC East
DraftKings: +800
FanDuel: +700
BetMGM: +750
Caesars: +1000

New England’s odds place it as a bottom-five team in the conference and the worst team in the division, as of the first run of free agency.

It’s still very early, and these odds were prior to the NFL draft, so the Patriots still can improve their roster to match up against other playoff contenders in the AFC. However, New England has more holes to fill after reportedly cutting Jalen Mills on Friday.

But it’s a long way up as things stood after the top free agents found new homes.

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