Three hottest seats on New England Patriots

The New England Patriots are entering a franchise-altering offseason and must take advantage of the abundance of resources at their disposal to quickly get back on track. Despite being well-positioned to make significant moves this offseason, pressure is mounting for several members of the organization. 

With that in mind, here are three Patriots on the hottest seats in 2024. 

Director of scouting Eliot Wolf

The Patriots are relying on Wolf — the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl-winning executive Ron Wolf — to guide them through their pivotal offseason. New England's new unofficial general manager has final say over the draft and 53-man roster.

Wolf's vision for the Patriots and his actions will undoubtedly change the franchise's trajectory — for better or worse. No decision will be more important than how Wolf addresses quarterback, as the Patriots could take the veteran route in free agency or draft a rookie. 

If the team's new culture adopted under Wolf works out as planned and his roster decisions yield positive results, perhaps he'll earn the permanent title of general manager. If he is unsuccessful, Wolf might have trouble finding an NFL decision-making job for some time. 

Owner Robert Kraft

The decision to part with legendary HC Bill Belichick proves Kraft is committed to turning things around. However, if the team is to be successful again, the 82-year-old's offseason spending can't focus solely on his roster. 

On Wednesday, the NFLPA released its annual Player Team Report Cards, which are based on players' opinions of each organization. New England ranked 29th among the 32 teams, earning F-minus and F marks in the "Treatment of Families" and "Weight Room" categories, respectively. 

Per the survey, the Patriots are one of 12 teams that don't provide a family room during games and are among just four teams that don't offer a daycare. Additionally, New England is the NFL's only team with the majority of players believing their team's facility is in worse shape than places they could train elsewhere. 

With poor grades like these, it might not matter to impending free agents that the Patriots have the third-most cap space in the NFL ($78.1M). 

Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster

While QB Mac Jones could've easily been included on this list, it seemed pointless because he was benched multiple times in 2023 and signs point to New England finding his replacement in the coming months. Instead, we'll put the spotlight on Smith-Schuster, who could be one of the worst free-agent signings in franchise history. 

Coming off a win in Super Bowl LVII with the Chiefs, Smith-Schuster signed a three-year, $33M deal with New England in free agency, a deal that soon proved to be a costly mistake. The aftermath of an offseason knee procedure resulted in Smith-Schuster missing OTAs and impacted his play throughout the season. The one-time Pro Bowler caught 29 passes for 260 yards and one touchdown before being placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. 

Assuming Smith-Schuster cracks the 2024 roster, he must demonstrate he can still be a reliable contributor or the Patriots will have no choice but to cut him. New England can release Smith-Schuster next offseason to save $7.5M in cap space while incurring $2.6M in dead money.