Perry: Nine offseason options for Patriots at three key positions originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots enter NFL free agency with the most cap space in the league. They have nine picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, including the No. 4 overall pick and three selections inside the top 70.

So, resources won’t be an issue for new head coach Mike Vrabel and the Eliot Wolf-led front office. But how they deploy those resources could have a massive impact on how quickly New England can rebuild.

With that in mind, our Patriots Insider Phil Perry began his latest Next Pats Podcast by outlining how he’d like to see the Patriots address their three biggest needs — offensive tackle, wide receiver and edge rusher — with a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C for each position.

Here’s a full rundown of Perry’s preferred plan for who the Patriots should prioritize at those three positions this offseason — and who should be their top contingency plans — after talking to “a number of different coaches and executives” in recent days.

“Everyone I spoke to in Indy, when you talk to them about what the Patriots’ priority should be, it starts with Ronnie Stanley. Because of that glaring need, because he is so far and away the best left tackle (in free agency).

“I wouldn’t be thrilled about it, but he would give you Band-Aid solution at left tackle. He would give you somewhat of a representative effort on a week in, week out basis at one of the most important positions in the sport.”

“If you’re not able to land either Ronnie Stanley or Cam Robinson, suddenly you’re in the mix to draft Will Campbell at No. 4 overall. Or maybe it’s Armand Membou. Maybe you’re forcing a pick in the second round and hoping that that guy can start, whether it’s Aireontae Ersery or it’s a pick in the third round and it’s Anthony Belton.”

“Chris Godwin costs you money and nothing else. You’re not giving up draft compensation you’re not having to pay a top-of-the market rate. … You’re also getting somebody who’s a professional, and I know that’s something that would be appreciated here in New England in terms of your work ethic, in terms of your diligence, in terms of your approach to your job.”

“You might have to make your decision on (Metcalf) as though he is your Option A. … Because if you wait around to see whether or not you get Chris Godwin and now you pivot to DK, (the Seahawks) might have already traded him or come to an agreement on trading him with another team.

“We’ve got five days before the legal tampering period, and whether or not you feel like you can really get Chris Godwin to sign on the dotted line, so would DK Metcalf still be available by then? I’m not so sure.”

“I wrestled with this one just a little bit between Brandon Aiyuk and Jakobi Meyers. Is Aiyuk’s ceiling higher than Meyers’? Yes, but Meyers, you know what kind of person (you’re getting), you know how he fits in Josh McDaniels’ offense, you know how he fits in terms of his willingness to perform in this area and his ability to perform in the elements.”

Edge defender

“Call me crazy, I don’t think it is. I think Micah Parsons is that good. He is solidly in his prime. You’d have to pay him a boatload of money, and I get that, but I love Micah Parsons. I love him in terms of his ability level, that part of it is obvious, but I think he cares, he’s passionate he, wants to win.

“I’m thinking about him paired with Mike Vrabel and that defense and the coaching that he would get here. Given everything we saw Vrabel do with those guys in Houston and what he was able to get out of them, what do you think he might be able to get out of Micah Parsons? I think that could be a special, special, kind of fit.”

“Koonce is a little undersized … 6-foot-3, 250 (pounds), so he’s a little Harold Landry-esque in terms of his profile size-wise. Eight sacks in 17 games (in 2023). I know after guys like (Khalil Mack, Chase Young and DeMarcus Lawrence) … he’s viewed as maybe the best pure rusher in free agency, and he’s a middle-tier kind of give. That to me screams value signing.”

“At 6-foot-4, 255 (pounds), I like his size, I like the ability that he has to play both the run and the pass. He was 34th in pass rush grade last year per Pro Football Focus. This is a guy who was a Prototypical Patriot when he was coming out of the draft out of the University of Tennessee a few years ago, so I really like Darrell Taylor.”