5 New England Patriots Free Agency Targets
By Liam McKeone
Mike Evans
Completely irrelevant to what happens at the quarterback position, the Patriots desperately need an overhaul of their pass-catchers. Everybody outside of Kendrick Bourne was either terrible or hurt in 2023 and even Bourne eventually ended up going down for the year. New England cannot afford to roll into 2024 with a top three of Bourne (coming off a torn ACL), JuJu Smith-Schuster, and DeVante Parker again. Pop Douglas was a breath of fresh air but is pretty limited due to his size and is legitimately the only young receiver with potential on the roster. They need to add, big-time.
Evans is the definition of big time. Or big, at least. He's recorded more than 1,000 yards receiving in every season as a pro and provides one of the largest catch radiuses in the NFL. He'd be a welcome safety blanket for a young quarterback or a vet. And he seems to be as available as ever. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to use their franchise tag on safety Antoine Winfield Jr., which opens the door for Evans to test the market for the first time ever. While the Patriots could certainly use some younger talent out there it's hard to see Evans' production falling off a cliff anytime soon and they need reliable sets of hands more than they need anything.