How can the New England Patriots tackle free agency?

The NFL offseason officially kicks off when free agency opens at 4pm ET on March 11th. How will the Patriots look to improve?

Let's start in-house.

Safety Jaylinn Hawkins, EDGE K'Lavon Chaisson and Nose Tackle Khyiris Tonga are the big names for the Patriots heading into March 11th. Hawkins paired with rookie Craig Woodson to create a strong secondary for Mike Vrabel's defense. Hawkins is coming off a strong season with 71 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 4 interceptions. He'll look to see what free agency will offer him, but don't be surprised if he winds up back in New England.

Chaisson had a breakout year with New England, totaling 7.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. The 26 year old EDGE from LSU will have his fair share of suitors this offseason. Even though he had a strong season, Chaisson's limitations showed up in the playoffs. The Patriots weren't able to generate much pressure and it was apparent against a Seattle Seahawks team that had some weaknesses on their Oline. Chaisson and co. couldn't rattle QB Sam Darnold enough and it was one of the reason New England lost.

NT Khyiris Tonga was huge in the run game. The triot of him, Milton Williams and Christian Barmore made life on opposing offenses difficult. It was noticeable when Tonga was injured. The Patriots are simply a better team when that trio is healthy and able to contribute. Tonga signed a one year deal last offseason to the tune of 2.1 million according to Spotrac. It's rumored he could be in demand and could look to cash out. The Patriots most likely wouldn't chase Tonga. With young guys like Corey Durden and others to pick up that work, New England will look internally to fill that gap.

So, who's out there?

Let's start with the obvious. The New England Patriots are NOT one player away from a title. The Super Bowl run was fun but the team lacks depth. In the first year of a rebuild Mike Vrabel put together a squad in his vision, but not fully. It's hard to do that in one offseason and he had to work with guys from previous regimes due to their contracts. Consider this year 2 of the rebuild really where we get to see more of Vrabel's vision take place. Obviously, the draft is most likely how the organization will approach this and it's the correct move. With so many holes on the offensive side that need to be addressed (a young TE, another WR, more OL pieces), trading away picks for a guy like AJ Brown doesn't make sense unless that asking price gets lower.

Isaiah Likely

Likely's name is one that gets thrown out a lot. He's only 25, not to mention a local kid who grew up in Cambridge, MA and attended high school in both Everett and Malden. Playing for his hometown team opposite Hunter Henry would give New England more of a threat in the TE game.

Jaelan Phillips

Phillips was dealt from the Miami Dolphins to the Philadelphia Eagles around the trade deadline last season, and the move seemed to energize him. Phillips finished the season with 53 tackles, 1 forced fumble and 2 fumbles recovered. With EDGE being such a need for this Patriots organization, keep your eye out for Phillips on the first few days of free agency.

Rashid Shaheed

I like Shaheed's speed here. While we'll probably hear more about 'draft and develop

and focus on Kyle Williams and Kayshon Boutte, Shaheed should be in the mix as a free agent. He had 687 yards last season and was great as a kick returned for Seattle. Shaheed can blow the lid off the defense and be that downfield threat that can outrun everyone. Again, I think the route is to slide Williams into a bigger role since his speed can match anyone's, but it's interesting to think about Shaheed on one side and Williams on the other, both using their speed to make DB's lives more difficult than ever.

There are offensive lineman that I'm sure the organization will look at, but I think they'd really like to go 'draft and develop' with that group specifically. Look for New England to pick up 2 OL's in the draft (most likely a LG and RT). With the start of free agency coming up quick, we'll slowly start seeing what next years squad will look like.