Welcome to the twenty-seventh part of a thirty-two-part series: Reading the NFL Offseason Tea Leaves. Fantasy football tasseography is deeply rooted in predicting future fantasy fortunes. Some of the team tea cups we'll be looking into may be larger than others. The smallest of cups may have the most alluring blends of offensive weaponry, or be set to bloom after a long steep. This series will aid in your approach to Redraft and Dynasty leagues by bringing you up to date on:

• Free Agency
  • Re-signings, additions, who signed elsewhere, and what it means for fantasy.
• NFL Draft
  • What can we decipher about the direction a team is headed in based on their draft selections?
• Coaching Changes
  • Who's in, who's out, and how do the coaching philosophies translate to fantasy production?
• Fantasy Fortunes
  • What does this all mean for your fantasy football drafts?

Sync your Fantasy Football leagues with our League Hub FREE for a week with the link above.

Like tasseography, the arrangement of these four sections will vary as we digest each team's offseasons and see how the offensive pieces settle. Each article will interpret what this NFL team has told us about their future plans based on what they've done since their 2025 season ended.

Reading the New England Patriots' 2026 Offseason

The A.J. Brown Trade

The Patriots pulled off the trade to acquire A.J. Brown from the Eagles, sending a 2028 first-round pick and a conditional 2027 fifth-round pick. New England has built a nice supporting cast alongside Brown, and it should allow the Patriots to be more dynamic with Brown's usage.

Stefon Diggs, who was not re-signed, leaves behind a large target share that will end up mostly between Brown's numbers. There's already buzz that Brown is tearing up red zone drills. Brown will step into an opportunity to eclipse 120 targets and 1,200 yards as Drake Maye's No. 1 target.

Lou Brunson covered AJ Brown in a recent article that is a must-read in my opinion. 

The Rest of the WR Room

New England signed WR Romeo Doubs to a 4-year $68M contract worth a max of $80M if Doubs hits at least 80 catches and 1,200 yards each year. Doubs will set up opposite Brown in two-WR sets. Behind Brown and Doubs are veteran WR Kayshon Boutte and second-year WR Kyle Williams.

Boutte has been holding down X responsibilities in New England, and with the arrival of Brown and Doubs, he may be able to work as a flanker/slot more often. Boutte would thrive in a role that doesn't require him to be strapped to the outside, but it's unlikely for him to climb into the WR3 range.

Kyle Williams will continue his role as a field stretcher for this offense much like he did in 2025. 

The TE Room

The Patriots did not retain TE Austin Hooper. The Pats signed TE Julian Hill to a 3-year $15M deal, but Hill suffered a season-ending knee injury in May during voluntary workouts.

That leaves only two household names at TE  left on the roster.

The first, Hunter Henry, is entering his 6th season with the Patriots, which happens to be a contract year. Last year, Henry soaked up 87 targets in his first healthy season since 2022. Henry will handle TE1 duties this year.

The second is Notre Dame TE Eli Raridon, who the Patriots selected in round 3 of the draft. Raridon will likely be schemed into looks as the TE2 behind Hunter Henry in Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels' system, which uses a lot of two-TE sets.

Raridon is a capable blocker who may develop into a full-time weapon at TE for the Patriots, should they decide not to re-sign Hunter Henry when his contract ends at the end of the 2026 season.

The Backfield: Stevenson and Henderson

Rhamondre Stevenson left practice early this week before the team ended with their final sprints. It's something to keep an eye on, as injuries this late in the offseason tend to bleed into Sundays. If it's no big deal and Rhamondre Stevenson is good to go in Week 1, we're likely to see a 50/50 split in the backfield between him and TreVeyon Henderson.

Stevenson handled the majority of snaps in 2025 as Henderson learned how to be an NFL RB. Year two is typically a big jump for RBs, and there's a chance Henderson leapfrogs Stevenson by mid-season to be the Patriots RB1 if he can prove to be better in pass protection than Stevenson. Either way, these two RBs are in an exciting offense for 2026 and will both carry weekly RB1 ceilings.

The Patriots added two rookie running backs of interest in dynasty leagues. In the 7th round, the Patriots selected Jam Miller out of Alabama. Miller struggled with injuries last season that zapped his physical ability. His 2024 tape was much better than what he did in 2025. The other RB is Undrafted Free Agent (UDFA) Myles Montgomery, who displays NFL-caliber pass protection skills.

Neither is likely a fantasy play this year unless both Stevenson and Henderson get injured.

Find us on your favorite platforms with the link above!

Drake Maye After a Career Year

Drake Maye had a career year in 2025 and is due for a bit of negative regression. His efficiency was through the roof, completing 72% of his passes with a Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE) of 10.8. For comparison, MVP Matthew Stafford's CPOE was 1.6, Jared Goff's was 1.8, and Josh Allen's was 3.5. 

Want to look into data like this yourself? I've been using our Snap Analyzer to parse out stats like this. You can break stats out situationally, too. It's killer, and I hope you use promo code CAM26 to try all of our tools out for a week on me. 

It's not a question of whether he'll regress, but rather how much. His rushing floor and the arrival of new weapons in New England should help him achieve another QB1 season with top 5 upside. He's a little rich for me with a current Average Draft Position (ADP) hovering around the start of the 5th round. 

Fantasy Fortunes 

This offense should sustain a QB1, two RB2s, a WR1 and a WR3-4, and a backend TE1. Henderson and Stevenson will likely continue to split the RB workload.

Personally, I think Brown will finish with enough fantasy points to be in the discussion as a top-12 WR for fantasy. Doubs may see enough volume to consistently produce as a WR3, with a WR2 finish in the range of possible outcomes. Kayshon Boutte is the next most versatile WR and will be moved around the formation.

Hunter Henry is a superior talent to Eli Raridon, but if he isn't re-signed in 2027, Raridon will be vaulted into the backend TE1 conversation. This offense has ascended.

Cam White is a Senior Analyst & Host at Optimus Fantasy. You can find more of his work on our YouTube channel, and make sure to follow him on Bluesky.