People were giving BB a pass as GM but these are moves he made...
They did a poor job of building the offense. They didn't replace Gronkowski. Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo maybe had 1 TD catch each??? Plus LaCosse was hurt often. WRs outside of Edelman, who was hurt all year, were underwhelming. Josh Gordon burnt out literally. AB, who really would have made a huge difference in the Patriots offense, harassed himself out of New England. The Sanu trade didnt work out, and now we lost a 2nd rd pick for that. Philip Dorsett lost his hands midway through the season. We were starting and playing with 2 undrafted free agent wide receivers, Jakobi Meyers and Gunner Olszewski, early in the year. Their #1 pick Nkeal Harry, spent 8 weeks on IR, and was never really on the same page as Brady. The running back slot was underwhelming too. Rex Burkhead was our best back this year. He only had a few TDs, but his versatility as a runner/receiver makes him so much more important than Sony Michel, who isnt good by the way. James White had been so important in the past with his receiving out of the backfield that defenses weren't covering him with LBs anymore, and he wasn't as effective this year. The 3rd rd pick, Damian Harris, literally did nothing this year.
Their offensive line wasn't the same either. David Andrews, their C, missed the whole year with blood clots. They lost Trent Brown in free agency, and Isiah Wynn, his replacement, missed 8 weeks on IR with turf toe. The 3rd stringer, Marshall Newhouse, was pretty below average, but given he was signed off the street he was ok. LG Joe Thuney was an all-pro and is an absolute stud. Ted Karras filled in well at C. RG Shaq Mason is very good too, but he was banged up all year. RT Marcus Cannon didnt have a great year, especially down the stretch. Brady took a beating this year, which the national media seems to neglect.
So yeah the offense did really suck, but you can see why it did. People pile on Brady, but the weapons were atrocious.
Their 2019 draft class was pretty useless too outside of Nkeal Harry and Chase Winovich. Winovich was their best rookie by far. Good on special teams and was a good 3rd down pass rusher. He hit a rookie wall down the stretch though. Other than that nothing. Stidham threw a pick six versus the Jets. The two offensive lineman they pick didnt see the field at all. CB Joejuan Williams was meh. Jake Bailey, their 6th round punter was probably the best pick. Pats were up there with the most punts in the league, and Bailey took over kickoff duty when Stephen Gostkowski went on IR.