There is not one individual reason why the New England Patriots transformed into one of the best teams in the NFL this season. Rather, their success is a complex mosaic whose parts include quarterback play, coaching, free agency success, player development, injury luck and schedule, among countless other factors.
One that cannot be disregarded among them is rookie performance. In the first year under head coach Mike Vrabel, the Patriots relied heavily on their first-year personnel. Draft picks like first-rounder Will Campbell have been integral to the team’s play this season, as have been lower-profile players brought aboard in the late rounds or through rookie free agency.
With no football being played this week, at least at One Patriot Place, let’s take a look at the Patriots’ rookie class and see where it stands with the 13 weeks in the books.
LT Will Campbell (IR): The Patriots drafted Campbell fourth overall in April to be their left tackle of not just the future, but the present. Unsurprisingly, he immediately slid into the starting role and never looked back. Before suffering a sprained MCL in Week 12 against Cincinnati, the LSU product rarely missed a beat or any meaningful snaps. While he did work through the expected rookie growing pains — he has given up five sacks and 25 total quarterback pressures this season — his play overall was encouraging both as a pass protector and a run blocker. Whenever he returns to the lineup, he will do so as a foundational piece for the Patriots both in 2025 and beyond. | 12 games (12 starts), 87.5% offensive snaps, 5.4% special teams snaps
RB TreVeyon Henderson: One of the most dynamic offensive skill position players coming out this year, Henderson started slowly but has recently begun to hit his stride. Initially a rotational second option, he took over the top spot while starter Rhamondre Stevenson was nursing a toe injury and continued to look good after the veteran’s return as well. On the year, he has carried the ball 129 times for 625 yards — an average of 4.8 yards per carry — and five touchdowns. Additionally, he has caught 32 passes for 199 yards and another score and is therefore the team’s current leader in both scrimmage yards (824) and scores (6). His pass protection has been a bit hit-or-miss, but all in all the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of November keeps showing why he was made a second-round pick earlier this year. | 13 games (4 starts), 47.9% offensive snaps, 7.5% special teams snaps
WR Kyle Williams: The Patriots’ wide receiver group has performed at a high level this year, but Williams has been one of the more quiet members of the group. Effectively serving as the fifth option overall and No. 3 on the perimeter, the third-round pick has hauled in five passes for 143 yards. He has struggled with consistently getting on the same page as Drake Maye, but the pair has hooked up twice for touchdowns — a positive foundation to build on. In addition, the Washington State product has begun showing some promise as a kickoff returner, averaging 26.0 yards on his four runbacks over the last two weeks. | 13 games (0 starts), 26.1% offensive snaps, 2.1% special teams snaps
LG Jared Wilson: A center at Georgia, Wilson was limited during the offseason but as soon as the pads came on in training camp showed what he could be. He beat out former first-round draft pick Cole Strange for the starting left tackle spot and has played that role for all 11 of the games he was available for. Completing the rookie left side of the line alongside Will Campbell, there was some good and some bad from the third-rounder. On the whole, however, he started showing some strides both in pass protection and run blocking before spraining his ankle three snaps into the Week 12 game versus the Bengals. What his long-term future holds will be seen — could moving back to center be an option in 2026? — but for now he remains the top left guard once back. | 11 games (11 starts), 78.2% offensive snaps, 13.2% special teams snaps
S Craig Woodson: The Patriots’ safety position saw some massive turnover since the start of training camp, with Woodson right at the center of it. His development from fourth-round draft pick to eventual starter alongside Jaylinn Hawkins contributed to the team releasing Jabrill Peppers and trading Kyle Dugger to Pittsburgh. As or his play itself, it has been mostly solid given that he only entered the starting lineup in late August. Yes, there were some growing pains in man coverage and the occasional missed tackle, but he has shown that the team putting plenty on his plate — and playing a team-high 757 defensive snaps (97.6%) is just that — was justified. | 13 games (12 starts), 97.6% defensive snaps, 13.5% special teams snaps
DT Joshua Farmer: New England’s second fourth-round pick found his way onto the 53-man roster out of training camp, and started out as the fourth defensive tackle on the depth chart. He has continued to operate in those spheres ever since; there were games where he was more prominently featured, and a couple he was made a healthy scratch for. In total, he has appeared in 11 of 13 games and played just under a fourth of defensive snaps with 13 tackles, seven quarterback pressures and a fumble recovery. It’s not eye-popping production but a foundation to build on, particularly after managing to return to the game day roster in Week 13. | 11 games (1 start), 23.6% defensive snaps, 2.7% special teams snaps
ED Bradyn Swinson: Swinson showed flashes of his pass rush talent in training camp, but his consistency and run defense were lacking. He consequently was released and signed to the practice squad, operating behind the scenes through the first 11 weeks of the season. He was promoted to the active roster for Week 12, amid drawing interesting from other teams, playing his first 10 NFL snaps as a three-unit special teamer versus Cincinnati. The fifth-round pick found himself among to the game day inactives in Week 13, and at this point seems primarily like a matchup and depth option at outside linebacker. | 1 game (0 starts), 3.0% special teams snaps
K Andy Borregales: The season did not start great for Borregales, who missed a field goal and two extra points in his first two games. Late in Week 2, however, the flip switched: the sixth-rounder making a big 53-yard field goal to give New England more wiggle room was a turning point. Borregales went perfect in his next eight games, and on the season as a whole has converted 23 of 26 field goal attempts (88.5%) as well as 36 of 38 point-after tries (94.7%); he also has been solid in his 72 kickoffs, contributing to the Patriots being ranked sixth in kick coverage. He also is a one-time AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. | 13 games (0 starts), 40.8% special teams snaps
OT Marcus Bryant: Will Campbell’s recent knee injury did not change Marcus Bryan’t standing on the roster. As he has been throughout the year, the seventh-rounder is a fourth option at tackle and will continue to receive limited playing time outside of place kick protection. On the year so far, he has played 18 total snaps over three games as a stand-in for starting right tackle Morgan Moses. | 12 games (0 starts), 2.3% offensive snaps, 16.8% special teams snaps
LS Julian Ashby: Replacing longtime Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona, Ashby had some big shoes to fill as a rookie. So far, he has done a decent job. He did have some slightly inaccurate snaps and has been flagged twice for false start, but there have been no major issues otherwise. The fact that his name is rarely getting mentioned all while the aforementioned Andy Borregales has played at a high level says it all. | 13 games (0 starts), 32.1% special teams snaps
CB Kobee Minor (PS): This year’s Mr. Irrelevant was unable to crack the Patriots’ cornerback rotation, but found a home on the practice squad coming out of training camp. He has remained there ever since, twice getting standard-elevated to the game day roster. Minor played six special teams snaps in those games, leaving him with one potential elevation. | 2 games (0 starts), 1.8% special teams snaps
RB Lan Larison (IR): A highly-productive multi-purpose back at UC Davis, Larison looked like a potential candidate to earn a depth spot on the roster early in training camp. However, he suffered a broken foot in the preseason opener and was placed on season-ending injured reserve shortly thereafter. | 0 games
FB Brock Lampe (IR): Lampe had a shot at making the Patriots’ roster as a fullback, but he hurt his foot in the first full-pads session of training camp and was placed on injured reserve. His injury ended his rookie campaign while simultaneously creating a vacuum at fullback that has since been filled by converted tight end Jack Westover and, to a lesser degree, defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga. | 0 games
WR Efton Chism III: When Chism caught six passes for 71 yards and a touchdown in the second preseason game against Minnesota, he essentially punched his ticket to the 53-man roster. The Eastern Washington product indeed ended up making the squad, but playing time has been hard to come by for him. He has seen action in six games, returning 16 kickoffs for an average of 23.9 yards per runback. Offensively, meanwhile, his 24 snaps yielded zero targets or touches. In fact, 11 of them came as the deep man on kneel-downs, a role played in the past by Patriots legend Matthew Slater. | 6 games (0 starts), 3.0% offensive snaps, 14.7% special teams snaps
WR Jeremiah Webb (PS): Webb had a good preseason finale but it was not enough for him to make a late push onto the team. Instead, he was let go and signed to the practice squad. He has remained there ever since without any game-day elevations or other non-practice action. | 0 games
TE C.J. Dippre: Like the aforementioned Bradyn Swinson, Dippre also started out on the practice squad and eventually became a target for other teams. The Patriots were not willing to let that happen, and when they had an opportunity brought him up to the 53-man roster. Since his promotion in mid-November, he has been a regular on the inactives list as a healthy scratch. | 0 games
ED Elijah Ponder: The most active of the Patriots’ undrafted free agents, Ponder made the opening 53-man roster over other outside linebacker options such as Bradyn Swinson. Initially a depth option that received limited opportunities, he steadily showed progress behind the scenes and was arguably the main beneficiary of Keion White getting sent to San Francisco ahead of the NFL trade deadline. The arrow has been pointing up ever since, and Ponder is now the third edge behind starters Harold Landry and K’Lavon Chaisson. Overall, he has played in 11 games and registered three sacks while also being ranked fifth on the team in special teams snaps (162; 48.7%). He is not the sole answer to the Patriots’ questions on the edge yet, but has positioned himself well for both the rest of 2025 and the future beyond that. | 11 games (0 starts), 17.0% offensive snaps, 48.7% special teams snaps
CB Brandon Crossley (PS): Crossley’s first NFL season so far has been unremarkable, even by UDFA standards. He never seriously threatened for a roster spot over the summer, spent one day on the practice squad after getting waived, and then spent three months on the open market. He only returned to the Patriots’ developmental roster in late November, after the team moved Alex Austin to injured reserve and promoted Miles Battle from the practice squad. He is CB7 at the moment, effectively the last layer of the depth chart. | 0 games
DT Eric Gregory: A rookie free agent out of Arkansas, Gregory began his career with the Bengals and actually was able to make it onto their 53-man team out of training camp. However, his time on the Cincinnati roster was short-lived: he was waived again just two days after cutdown day, with the Patriots scooping him up via waivers. Since then, the 6-foot-3, 319-pounder has started to work his way into the defensive tackle rotation. A healthy scratch for the first 10 weeks of the season, he made his debut in Week 11 against the Jets and has increased his playing time ever since — from 26.3% to 27.7% to, most recently and in light of injuries suffered by Milton Williams and Khyiris Tonga, 38.2% against the New York Giants last Monday. | 3 games (0 starts), 7.0% offensive snaps, 1.2% special teams snaps
S John Saunders Jr. (PS): The Patriots had an open spot on their roster after trading Kyle Dugger to the Steelers, and they filled it by poaching an undrafted rookie off the Miami Dolphins practice squad. Saunders Jr’s stint on the New England 53-man team lasted only three weeks and did not include any game action, but he was retained via the practice squad after his release in mid-November. | 0 games