Even though the Patriots did a lot of work in reconstructing their roster this offseason, it's understandable to a degree that the team won't receive a lot of love—at least not yet—from national pundits. The rookies have yet to play an NFL down, and Stefon Diggs is being billed as an underwhelming signing due to his age and torn ACL last season.
When it came time for ESPN to project the starting lineups for all 32 teams, the Patriots checked in at 21st in the Worldwide Leader's rankings. Not surprisingly, the wide receiver room was viewed as the roster's weakest spot, with the combination of Diggs coming off his knee injury and DeMario Douglas being viewed as undersized among the question marks.