I think the biggest storyline for the New England Patriots is being ignored: The Patriots have seriously upgraded their offense and no one is talking about it.
Just think about the talent the Patriots have added and try to contain your excitement.
To ease you into this understanding, let's start with running back where the Patriots added Donald Brown, who probably shouldn't move the needle, and undrafted rookie D.J. Foster, who joined the Patriots because they will let him operate from the backfield. These are minor improvements.
But the return of Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount from their injuries cannot be discounted. The New England offense fell apart after their injuries because both are well-above replacement level and they will be available for the 2016 season.
At wide receiver, the Patriots shipped away Brandon LaFell, sure, but they upgraded with a more athletic Chris Hogan and added a savvy veteran in Nate Washington. The Patriots also have a trio of rookies in 4th round pick Malcolm Mitchell, 7th round pick Devin Lucien, and undrafted rookie De'Runnya Wilson (who might actually be better fit as a tight end). Julian Edelman will hopefully be healthy and Danny Amendola could also return, although his contract is an albatross.
Compare that to last season, when Aaron Dobson and Chris Harper with the #3 and #4 receivers to start the season, and it's no contest that the 2016 talent is far superior.
The tight end position is even more drastically improved with Martellus Bennett as possibly the best acquisition in the NFL this offseason. The Patriots have also added jackknife Clay Harbor who was grossly underutilized with the Jaguars, and surprise undrafted free agent Bryce Williams.
The Patriots skill positions in 2016 will undoubtedly be better than their 2015 counterparts and that's great- and that's not all.
New England also brought back offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, who will seriously revamp the positional group, and added former top 10 pick Jonathan Cooper and 2016 3rd round pick Joe Thuney to the competition.
I also have to note that there's no way the line can be any worse than last season. That's extremely important. Undrafted rookie David Andrews was the only player to not sustain a serious injury over the course of the season, while offensive guards Shaq Mason and Tre Jackson will only be better in 2016 with their acquired experience.
Mason closed out the season on a strong note, while the return of Nate Solder will have a nice trickle-down effect for Sebastian Vollmer back on the right side of the line.
And last year's injury bug was the worst in the entire league which, fingers crossed, means that the Patriots won't suffer as many injuries in 2016. The team shook up their strength and conditioning department in hopes of an improvement.
This unit is, top to bottom, better than what the Patriots had at any point last season and the depth is also superior.
Just another reason to be excited for the Patriots 2016 season.