NBC Sports Boston

Remember, it takes two to tango in free agency. If the Patriots can't convince high-end players at premium positions to sign with them this offseason... then what? At that point, it'd be all about the NFL Draft. That's 'The Packer Way.' Draft and develop. Play your young players. Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf may be forced into that kind of build if they can't pay their way into watchability in 2024. Here's one seven-round scenario in which the Patriots fill their positions of need with young, cost-controlled athletes. Is it ideal? It isn't. But this is a less-than-ideal situation the current New England brass faces, and they may have to make the best of it come late April with real questions still lingering on their roster.