Patriots sit dead last in talent in AFC East, as determined by The Athletic rankings

BOSTON -- Were you hoping for some more positive news from the Patriots this offseason? Well, too bad. It hasn't been very good, and it may even get worse.

For now, there's this: Zack Rosenblatt, who covers the Jets for The Athletic, took the time to rank the talent at every position on all four rosters in the AFC East. And in what is not entirely considered a surprising result, the Patriots ranked dead last. By a mile.

Rosenblatt looked at 10 positional groups on both sides of the ball: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, edge rusher, defensive tackle, linebacker, cornerback and safety.

In those 10 categories, the Patriots ranked last in seven of them. That includes some rather important categories, like quarterback, wide receiver and offensive line. Signing Jacoby Brissett and K.J. Osborn hasn't really shifted anything in the Patriots' favor this offseason.

In the three categories where the Patriots don't rank last, they rank second (safety and tight end) and third (defensive tackle), meaning there are zero positional groups for the Patriots that are the best in the division in these rankings.

Rosenblatt added up the ranking numbers for all 10 positions, with the Patriots' numbers adding up to 35. The Dolphins ranked third but were significantly better with 25 ranking points. The Bills had 22 and the Jets led the division with 18. It's obviously just one somewhat arbitrary ranking system created with a Jets angle in mind, but it does serve as a reminder that the promises of burning some cash or weaponizing the offense have not brought about observable improvements to this point.

There is some -- but not a ton -- room for quibbling. Notably, Christian Gonzalez looked really good in his four games as a rookie before suffering a season-ending injury, so there could be a case made that the Patriots aren't necessarily fourth in that category. Maybe. One could also argue that Rhamondre Stevenson is better than Buffalo's James Cook at running back. 

Yet the overall picture painted is a bit bleak, and it shows just how much the Patriots are relying on the draft to inject some talent, speed, athleticism, and playmaking ability that will give them a better chance to compete in 2024.