Mike Vrabel began his Patriots tenure in a dream scenario with a ton of cap space to spend and desirable positioning in the upcoming draft. Considering the amount of improvements the roster needed this offseason, he couldn't have stepped into a better situation to accomplish that, and it could be argued that the new regime accomplished it.
There was certainly an emphasis on building a more dominant defense, as most of the money spent in free agency was on defensive players, allowing them to focus on the offense during the draft. They needed to prioritize the defensive line, in particular, and had some interesting options to improve their pass rush, with some fans looking at season veteran Za'Darius Smith as a potential option.