Patriots Pending Free Agent Top 10 Power Rankings

As the 2018 Patriots take shape, there are a number of players who will be entering the final years of their contracts. Not everyone can be re-signed, as Patriots fans are all too familiar, but who should take priority?

Let’s do a quick power ranking of those who either need new deals or will be on other teams in 2019.

1. Trey Flowers — Flowers has been battling injuries for much of camp though it doesn’t appear to be anything that will keep him out of the regular season. Still, it’s not the best start for a defensive end looking to get paid as a premium position. The emergence of Derek Rivers would soften the blow if Flowers were to leave, but strong technical players like him are hard to find and defensive end depth is critical as we saw last year. It still appears very much a toss up if the Patriots will pay Flowers top dollar, or turn things over to the trio of Rivers, Dietrich Wise and Adrian Clayborn.
2. Trent Brown — It’s hard to put Brown second overall when he hasn’t played a single regular season snap but so far he’s been exactly what the Patriots needed at left tackle, a critical position. Do they really want to have to find another left tackle next offseason? Especially considering that Isaiah Wynn’s future is still murky after being lost for the season. It might be smart for the Patriots to spring as soon as possible before every other team in the league sees that he can be a starting left tackle.
3. Chris Hogan — There were reports that the Pats and Hogan were talking a new deal, which is a good sign considering he’s really the most reliable receiver on the team right now. Most useful is his versatility — he can play inside or out, and while he might not have the quickness of Edelman or the deep speed of Dorsett, Hogan is the most well-rounded and should have a great season if he can stay on the field. He led the league in yards-per-reception in 2016 and despite missing seven games in 2017 he had just four fewer catches and still topped his touchdown total, going fro four to five.
4. Danny Shelton — So far Shelton has been the most immovable object on the Patriots’ defensive front and looks poised to live up to his first-round billing. Like Trent Brown, it might be premature to put him this high, but with Malcolm Brown’s apparent regression, defensive tackle could be a critical need next offseason. Players like Shelton are impossible to find and if he does play like his draft status I’d move him all the way up into the top three, that’s how critical a player like him is to the defense.
5. Shaq Mason — Many might argue that Mason should be higher but the reality is that right guard is probably the easiest position on a football team to fill and as much as he’s an athletic specimen and I’d love to keep him, replacing him wouldn’t be nearly as tough as replacing those above him who are unique players at difficult positions to fill.
6. Stephen Gostkowski — Gost is still one of the best kickers in the game but you just never know when his age and value will hit that crossroads where Belichick feels okay turning the page on him. He had his third-best FG percentage in 2017 and was perfect 4-4 beyond 50 yards. The Pats were lucky when they let Adam Vinatieri walk and turned things over to the rookie Gostkowski and it all went perfectly. Could they get that lucky again?
7. Eric Rowe — I don’t think anyone is on the Rowe bandwagon even though he’s the most tenured Pats corner and was far better than anyone wants to admit in the Super Bowl. He gives the Pats a tall corner for matchups and is a valuable piece in the secondary. But with both him and Jason McCourty due to hit free agency the Pats might want to make a move to secure at least one of them and so far Rowe looks like the de facto number two corner behind Stephon Gilmore
8. Malcom Brown — Don’t give up on Brown yet, but it’s not a good sign when the team declines your fifth year option. That likely means they don’t plan on paying you with a big contract. He’ll need his best season as a pro and even then he likely won’t be back.
9. Phillip Dorsett — I haven’t been all that impressed with Dorsett yet and he’s got a long way to go to earn another contract with the team in my eyes. Still, with Edelman getting older, the cupboard is pretty bare aside from Hogan. I’m fascinated to see how his season unfolds.
10. Jeremy Hill — An honorable mention here, because this is based on my speculation that Hill will be a featured back at least for the early part of this season and might even be a better piece that Rex Burkhead who just returned from a two-week injury.  Hill would be affordable and excited for a second contract with the team. That spells the Patriots’ favorite word — value.

Other Notable Free Agents

• Ryan Allen – Could the team be looking to groom Corey Bojorquez behind the scenes this year to take over for Allen next year?
• Jordan Richards – Imagine what will happen if he gets a new deal over those guys up top?
• Cordarrelle Patterson – Could be a fun weapon for the offense this year but will he just use the Pats to get a bigger paycheck elsewhere next year? He’s a real wild card and will be somewhat of a luxury this year.
• LaAdrian Waddle — Has been a life saver with so many recent tackle injuries.