NFL Defense Ranking: Patriots Makes Major Leap, ‘Soar’ Into Top 10
It’s onward and upward for the New England Patriots.
The team came in No. 9 overall in NFL.com’s recent ranking of team defenses. Much of that has to do with the roster changes under head coach Mike Vrabel and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf.
“Last season’s Patriots couldn’t even crack the top 20 in true scoring defense — ranking 21st — so what makes me believe they’ll soar into the top 10? A striking offseason glow-up,” NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice wrote Tuesday. “
“New England spared no expense in free agency, upgrading all three levels of the defense with four new starters: DT Milton Williams, OLB Harold Landry III, ILB Robert Spillane and CB Carlton Davis III.
“Furthermore, with CB Christian Gonzalez fresh off a breakout sophomore season that saw him earn second-team All-Pro honors and DT Christian Barmore apparently checking every box in his recovery from blood clots, the Pats appear poised to field the kind of stout defense we became accustomed to in Bill Belichick’s heyday,” Filice continued.
“New head coach Mike Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls as a linebacker in Belichick’s unit in New England, had a pretty buttoned-up D in Tennessee that often punched above its weight,” Filice added. “What can Vrabel cultivate from this talent core? The future looks bright, especially considering the Patriots’ highly advantageous slate in 2025.
“Outside of two games against Josh Allen and one apiece vs. Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson, New England’s schedule features a host of unproven and/or unreliable quarterbacks. The Pats have 11 games against teams that finished last season in the bottom half of the league in offensive points per game.
“Taking all of this into account, New England could experience the kind of rapid ascent we saw last season in Denver, when the Broncos skyrocketed from 27th in defensive points allowed to third,” Filice concluded.
The Patriots report for training camp at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. in six days.
New England opens the 2025 regular season at home, hosting the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1.