Photo by Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images

 

With just under three weeks to go to the NFL's 53-man roster deadline of 4 p.m. on August 26th, 2025, we thought we would release our predictions for the 53-man roster of the 2025 New England Patriots.

 

We are going to do this in two parts, firstly break it down by;

 

• Certain Locks: i.e. players who are guaranteed to make the team

 

• Likely Locks: i.e. players who will make the team barring an injury/trade/incident off the field etc

 

• On the fence: i.e. players who are leaning towards making the team but their roster spot is still in contention and other players, provided they perform well in the last few weeks of preseason and training camp, could easily take the spot on the roster

 

• Unlikely/PS: i.e. players who won't be making the team barring a situation that means the Patriots are desperate for a player and can't fulfill that need through a trade, these guys will largely make up our practice squad for 2025

 

Secondly, we will list the 53-man roster in depth chart format by position.

 

Here we go:

Locks

Quarterbacks

Drake Maye

Running Backs

Rhamondre Stevenson

Wide Receivers

Stefon Diggs

Pop Douglas

Tight Ends

Hunter Henry

 

Offensive Line

Mike Onwenu

Garrett Bradbury

Will Campbell

 

Defensive Line

Christian Barmore

Milton Williams

 

Outside Linebacker

Harold Landry III

 

Linebacker

Jahlani Tavai

Robert Spillane

 

Cornerbacks

Christian Gonzalez

Marcus Jones

Carlton Davis III

 

Safeties

Kyle Dugger

Jabrill Peppers

 

Special Teams

Bryce Baringer

 

 

Likely

Quarterbacks

Joshua Dobbs

 

Running Backs

TreVeyon Henderson

Antonio Gibson

 

Wide Receivers

Javon Baker

Ja’Lynn Polk

Kyle Williams

Kayshon Boutte

 

Tight Ends

Austin Hooper

 

Offensive Line

Ben Brown

Morgan Moses

Caedan Wallace

 

Defensive Line

Keion White

Khyiris Tonga

 

Outside Linebacker

K’Lavon Chaisson

 

Linebacker

Christian Elliss

Monty Rice

 

Cornerbacks

Alex Austin

 

Safeties

Craig Woodson

Brenden Schooler

 

Special Teams

Julian Ashby

Andy Borregales

 

On The Fence - In/Out

Wide Receivers

Mack Hollins

 

Tight Ends

Gee Scott

 

Offensive Line

Jared Wilson

Cole Strange

Vederian Lowe

Demontrey Jacobs

 

Defensive Line

Joshua Farmer

Isaiah Iton

 

Outside Linebacker

Anfernee Jennings

 

Linebacker

Jack Gibbens

 

Cornerbacks

Isaiah Bolden

DJ James

 

Safeties

Dell Pettus

 

Unlikely - Cut/PS

*Denotes PS players

 

Quarterbacks

Ben Wooldridge*

 

Running Backs

Lan Larison*

Terrell Jennings

 

Wide Receivers

Efton Chism*

John Jiles*

Jeremiah Webb

Kendrick Bourne

 

 

Tight Ends

CJ Dippre*

Jack Westover*

Jaheim Bell

Travis Davis

Cole Fotheringham

 

 

Offensive Line

Alec Lindstrom*

Layden Robinson*

Tyrese Robinson*

Sidy Sow

Mekhi Butler

Marcus Bryant

Jack Conely

 

Defensive Line

Jeremiah Pharms Jr*

Bradyn Swinson*

Elijah Ponder

Jacquilin Roy

Jahvaree Ritzie

David Olajiga

 

Outside Linebackers

Truman Jones*

Marte Mapu*

 

Linebackers

RJ Moten

Cam Riley

 

Cornerbacks

Miles Battle*

Kobee Minor*

Brandon Crossley

 

Safeties

Jaylinn Hawkins

Josh Minkins

Marcus Epps

 

Special Teams

John Parker Polk*

 

 

QB - 2 players

 

Easiest pick on the team. Drake Maye is the future of this franchise and looks to have progressed in his ability to make decisions this off season. He's the starter and veteran Dobbs provides much needed experience at the backup position.

 

RB - 3 players

 

Happy for Mondre to start but I feel there will be a lot of rotation and Henderson will get a significant amount of reps here, him and Maye seem to be clicking in camp thus far.

 

TE - 3 players

 

Henry and Maye have found a partnership that could prove to being crucial for the offense this season, it's imperative he stays healthy. Scott is developmental and is at risk of not making the team but I like what I have seen and he has outperformed the other TEs outside of Hooper and Henry. I think if he does get on the field, we will be benefitting from a pretty good young player. Let's see.

 

G - 4 players

 

Onwenu is very good and likely our best lineman currently. Wallace can play either LG or RG so his versatility gets him in.

 

T - 4 players

 

Excited for Campbell, really think he's the real deal. Lowe has looked good in one-on-ones. Still think we lack depth at the OL positions so I wouldn't be shocked if we trade or claim one when the players clear waivers.

 

C - 2 players

 

I really like Bradbury and think he's an upgrade on Strange at C. Brown is a serviceable backup who can help at LG too.

 

DL/Edge - 5 players

 

Word is Barmore looks very good in camp which is awesome to hear due to his health scare and battle with blood clots. He will be a crucial piece to our defense so I hope he can stay healthy. Tonga is the best fit at NT in our team, Williams can play NT too but he's more suited to further wide in the line.

 

OLB - 3 players

 

Jennings is great at setting the edge but there is a concern he would struggle in certain situations, especially goal line defense. But there are plenty of options in the front 7 to give me comfort that it won't be an issue for the team.  Landry is tipped to have a big year and I expect him to be one of our sack leaders in the season.

 

LB - 5 players

 

LB group is solid. I think there is good depth with players who can play both ILB and OLB or Edge. I saw a few projections where they cut Tavai, but I think basing their decisions off last year's play is difficult and harsh to be frank when there were only a handful of players in Mayo's team that performed to an acceptable level, you could count them on one hand. Tavai has performed well in camp and I think he makes the team. I saw a clip of Monty Rice bumping into Vrabel and Vrabel seemed to enjoy it and relish it, going back to Rice for more and bumping into him also. Very interesting to see that because it wasn't something we would have seen with Belichick.

 

CB - 5 players

 

Marcellus Dial's injury is devastating, was looking forward to watching him, an ACL means he won't see the field in 2025. His injury presents an opportunity for guys like Isaiah Bolden and DJ James who might not have made the roster otherwise. Bolden has special teams capabilities also which leads me to believe DJ James may be the beneficiary of Dial's rotten luck.

 

S - 5 players

 

A lot of the safety picks pick themselves. I was impressed with Pettus last season, one of the better players in an admittedly terrible team, but nonetheless I think he squeezes in.

 

ST - 3 players

 

Only questionable picks here is the kicker competition which has been excellent this year and neck and neck. I picked Borregales because he seems to be edging it as of now and was drafted by the team in April but the competition is that tight that it would not surprise me either way if Romo gets the nod over Borregales. I have Romo as designated to head to the PS but I would be surprised if he clears waivers after the camp he has had, especially as there are a couple of kicker needy teams in the league and I am sure there are teams that would like that level of performance and consistency at such an important position.

 

As for the cuts/PS guys, I'm happy there are no real surprises here. I think Bourne's time in New England is up and it's time to give some younger guys a chance. I'm very interested by Chism and I played some ping pong in my head about whether he'd make the team or not, he just misses out. But I would expect him to clear waivers and make the PS so we would have the opportunity to call him up again later in the year if the need presents itself.

 

Patriots Depth Chart

We shall revisit this when the 53 man roster is set after the deadline to see how close (or badly) we predicted it. Please leave a comment and scrutinize the projection if you so wish.

 

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