Will New England Patriots Use Houston Texans' Rebuild Blueprint?

The New England Patriots could learn from the Houston Texans on how to rebuild their roster before drafting a quarterback.

Sep 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; New England Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

After enduring a disastrous 3-14 season where the New England Patriots were mired by poor quarterback play, it seems they are set to find their next franchise signal-caller in the upcoming NFL Draft. 

However, in the opinion of Dianna Russini of The Athletic, the possibility of the Patriots passing on a quarterback, despite having the No. 3 pick in the draft, shouldn’t be ruled out. 

“I don’t believe them to be a lock to take a quarterback,” Russini said in a recent interview with Collin Cowherd on FS1’s The Herd. “You can go both ways with this. Are they going to go the avenue of that slow rebuild and use another free agency to continue to build? Maybe trade out of that spot to collect more picks? It would mirror what the Houston Texans have been doing for the last few seasons in having that New England mindset. It wouldn’t be that far-fetched to use that same blueprint.”

The Texans are a good example of what a more patient rebuild would look like for New England. We have often used the Atlanta Falcons as a model for building the roster first before finding a quarterback. But, the Texans may be more of an apples-to-apples comparison not only because former Patriots front office executive Nick Caserio is their general manager but also because they ended their quarterback search last offseason with the selection of C.J. Stroud rather than signing a veteran in free agency.

Sep 11, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; New England Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

However, before selecting Stroud, the Texans were in dreadful quarterback purgatory for two seasons despite having Deshaun Watson on their roster for one of them. The former first-round pick out of Clemson made life difficult for the then-new general manager, as he requested a trade in the 2021 offseason, which was before the emergence of the sexual harassment allegations. 

Despite never being formally suspended by the league or disclosing any injuries, Watson didn’t play a game for the Texans in the 2021 season. Thus, Houston was forced to rely on Tyrod Taylor and Davis Mills.

While neither boasted a winning record as a starter, following Watson’s trade in 2022, Mills remained under center for Houston as they didn’t have a first-round pick that same offseason to replace him. After enduring a 3-13-1 2022 season, the Texans used their No. 2 overall pick on Stroud, who would lead them to their first playoff appearance since 2019 after a 10-7 season. 

In summary, the Texans spent two seasons in quarterback purgatory before establishing a roster good enough to get them back into postseason contention. Given the state of their roster, the Patriots may have to take this route.

“They’re just not ready now,” Russini said of the Patriots roster. “That’s why they had a hard time really pulling in top receivers during free agency.”

During interviews at the annual League Meetings, Patriots coach Jerod Mayo even said their 3-14 season may have scared free agents off, especially considering their unsettled quarterback situation. While the best solution to that may be finding a quarterback as quickly as possible, other problems on the roster may still hold them back from being an attractive free-agent destination.

This is where the possibility of trading down and accumulating more draft picks in the process becomes enticing. For instance, if the Patriots were to make the often-proposed trade with the Minnesota Vikings, they could land two first-round picks in this year’s draft and potentially a mid-to-late-round pick as well. 

Those two first-round picks could go a long way in helping the Patriots get back into contention quicker, as they could use them to fill two of their other big needs in receiver and offensive tackle.