Suffice it to say that owner Robert Kraft hasn’t been happy with how the New England Patriots’ recent seasons have ended.
The Patriots have not won a playoff game since the 2018 season when they won the Super Bowl. That, in a way, illuminates how high of a standard Kraft holds for New England. That’s not a bad four-year stretch. But over the last three seasons (extending into Tom Brady’s last season), the Patriots have appeared in two postseasons and lost their opener in both 2019 and 2021.
“I’m a Patriot fan big-time first,” Kraft said during a meeting with the media at owner’s meetings on Thursday, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “And more than anything, it bothers me that we haven’t been able to win a playoff game in the last three years.”
During the Patriots’ run in 2019, the Tennessee Titans bumped Brady and company. The Buffalo Bills beat the Patriots, 47-17, in this year’s wild-card round of the playoffs.
Even with a quiet offseason when New England spent most of its money retaining players, Kraft remains optimistic about the direction of the organization.
“I’m happy that I think we had a great draft last year,” Kraft told reporters. “That made up for what happened the previous four years or so, and I look forward to hopefully having a great draft this year. That’s the only way you can build your team for the long term and consistently that you have a chance of winning is having a good draft.”
Robert Kraft: Bothers me Patriots haven’t won playoff game in last 3 years … happy about last year’s draft after prior lean years … draft only way to build for sustained success. pic.twitter.com/xM2cIPTpmS
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) March 29, 2022
In the 2021 draft, the Patriots seemed to find a steady quarterback in Mac Jones along with high-upside starters in Christian Barmore and Rhamondre Stevenson. The rest of the class — defensive end Ronnie Perkins, linebacker Cameron McGrone and safety Joshuah Bledsoe, among others — are still unknown entities.
The Patriots are likely to need a similarly successful 2022 draft class if they want to improve upon last season because the roster doesn’t appear to have improved substantially — if at all — this offseason.
[listicle id=120328]