Why NFL Analyst Includes Patriots Among Most Improved Teams Post Draft

The beat goes on for the New England Patriots.

The Patriots climbed to the NFL’s mountaintop in the 2018 season by winning their sixth Super Bowl in franchise history. And less than three months later, New England put together arguably one of the best classes in this year’s NFL draft.

So while the Patriots will enter the 2019 campaign as reigning champions, ESPN’s Louis Riddick still believes Bill Belichick’s squad can be viewed as one of the most improved following the draft.

“The team that everyone’s going to hate to hear me say, and that’s the New England Patriots,” Riddick recently said on “NFL Live.” “I mean, it just is. Their draft fell exactly the way they wanted it to. They got tremendous value. Really, through the entire three-day draft process, they added wide receiver depth, they added a pass rusher, they added a running back, they added offensive linemen that (offensive line coach) Dante Scarnecchia is gonna turn into starters. I mean, the rich just keep getting richer with this football team.”

The offseason started off slow for the Patriots, who saw Trey Flowers, Trent Brown, Chris Hogan and other noteworthy names find new homes on the open market. But following a productive draft and a few free-agent signings of their own, the Patriots’ roster is in much better standing as training camp approaches.

New England, at least on paper, probably isn’t the most talented team in the league, but that wasn’t the case last season, either. We all know what happened then.