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The New England Patriots are predicted to sign the “top available” player at his position in 2026 NFL free agency.
Spending big in NFL free agency in 2025 accelerated the rebuild for the New England Patriots, and the team is predicted to repeat the trick this year by signing the “top available” player on the market at his position.
Tight end Kyle Pitts will swap the Atlanta Falcons for Gillette Stadium, according to Greg Auman of Fox Sports. He admitted “the Falcons could hedge their bet and give him the franchise tag, which is $16 million for one season,” but Auman ultimately named the Pats as a better destination for the roving pass-catcher drafted fourth overall five years ago.
Pitts would be an asset because he’s 25 and “stepped up in a contract year with 88 catches for 928 yards and five touchdowns — his touchdown total has increased every year — 1-2-3-4-5 in five seasons. Was that success more telling of Atlanta’s absence of any real receiving depth? He’ll be the top tight end available, which should get him $12–14 million a year.”
This type of a payday is in the range of the Patriots. Especially for a more dynamic playmaker than incumbent tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper.
Pitts would answer New England’s obvious need to put some marquee receivers around star quarterback Drake Maye and help him recover from a nightmare showing in Super Bowl LX.
Patriots a Perfect Landing Spot for Kyle Pitts
The Patriots can make Pitts’ decision in free agency an easy one. They represent the perfect landing spot because of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and his lengthy track record of turning tight ends into stars.
McDaniels has long leaned into making tight ends the focal point of his passing game. The approach worked wonders for the likes of Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett.
Pitts is a more versatile target, somebody the Patriots could split out as a wide receiver, move into the slot and release from the backfield. The 6-foot-6, 250-pounder is a physical mismatch in space, even against double coverage, like when he grabbed his third touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 15.
He has the makings of a go-to target for Maye, or at least a multi-faceted supporting act if the Patriots manage to bring back their QB1’s favorite receiver.
Drake Maye Needs More Targets
Handling Maye’s development will be a sensitive process after he was battered and baffled by the Seattle Seahawks on the biggest stage. The Seahawks ruthlessly exploited Maye’s biggest weakness, so the Patriots must give him more ways to move the ball efficiently, with adding better receivers their best option.
It will take an aggressive approach to free agency, something the Pats are equipped to undertake, thanks to $35,200,699 worth of salary cap space. A portion of that money could go to extending the stay of 1,000-yard wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who has already strongly declared a preference for his future.
Diggs is the lone receiver on the roster who can scare defenses, but Pitts would be another weapon teams need special plans to stop. His upside as a receiving threat makes it worth the Patriots overlooking Pitts’ weakness as a blocker and as a traditional in-line tight end.
Those are roles Henry still fills, but Maye needs a more expansive playmaker in space. That’s worth paying a premium for to keep the Patriots atop the AFC.
James Dudko covers the New York Giants, Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens for Heavy.com. He has covered the NFL and world soccer since 2011, with bylines at FanSided, Prime Time Sports Talk and Bleacher Report before joining Heavy in 2021. More about James Dudko
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