The Patriots are in a much different position on Super Bowl weekend in 2025 than they were a year prior.

Of course, there are similarities in the way each season played out, with New England underperforming and achieving a top-5 draft pick for the trouble. But last year’s Super Bowl weekend was still fueled by uncertainty. The Patriots had just hired a rookie head coach that inherited a team with many holes, and among the biggest, no quarterback.

This time around feels different. Mike Vrabel, a former Coach of the Year, is at the helm. And arguably more importantly, New England found the future of its franchise under center.

And, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, other teams were desperately hoping the Patriots would trade down and pass on their now-Pro Bowl quarterback. Which, in hindsight, would have been a backbreaker.

“Drake Maye in the NFL has a little bit of a mythical reputation,” Rapoport said on NBC Sports Boston’s “The Next Pats” podcast. “He was the guy everybody wanted in the draft. It was Caleb [Williams], Jayden Daniels, and everybody wanted Drake Maye. Everyone tried to trade up for him.

“… He looked good. There were a lot of reasons why this Patriots job — which I think always probably going to go to [Mike] Vrabel — a lot of reasons why this job was desirable. Drake Maye is at the top of the list.”

Now that Maye is in Foxborough, Rapoport and fellow NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero agree that attracting free agents shouldn’t be as much of a hassle as it was last offseason.

Despite Eliot Wolf’s best efforts, New England couldn’t lure top names like Calvin Ridley to the organization.

“It’s tough because I know they tried last year, took a lot of big swings in free agency … and I don’t know that they got particularly close,” Rapoport said. “Nobody knew. Nobody wants to go to a team that doesn’t have a quarterback. Now they have a quarterback. Are they a great team? No. Probably still a year away.

“Although, as we learned with the commanders, if you got a guy and you surround him with a really good group of middle-class free agents, you can make your roster quickly better.”

While Maye’s presence alone might not earn every top free agent on the market, the Patriots also have the cap flexibility to back up their improving situation with increased spending.

“Realistically, they probably still have to overpay a little bit, just because people don’t know how far away are you? … but Drake Maye is absolutely a selling point,” Pelissero said. “You got a lot of resources to build this thing, the No. 1 selling point they can make is … ‘we now know what Drake Maye is’. A year ago, people didn’t know.”

Will Tee Higgins be available for the Patriots?

Rapoport also noted on the podcast that one of New England’s top free agent targets may not actually be made available for bidding.

Tee Higgins could earn a huge contract this offseason, but the question is whether he’ll do so with his current team, the Bengals, or elsewhere. After Higgins recently changed his agent to the same one as his teammate Ja’Marr Chase, Rapoport doesn’t think it’s particularly likely Higgins moves on.

“Yeah, I do think it makes it more likely he stays in Cincinnati,” Rapoport said of Higgins. “I don’t know if Tee Higgins is going to be free, but I wouldn’t bet my life on it. … If he is free and goes somewhere, to me the Patriots have as good a chance as anyone, because they got a guy. But I need to see if he’s free first.”

However, with or without Higgins on the open market, there will still be plenty of options for the Patriots to improve their lineup through free agency. And Maye should be a major factor in free agent decisions this time around.