The Patriots came back from a 28-3 deficit late in the third quarter, playing nearly flawless offense to take home the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl 51. New England was able to use a massive amount of cap space to make a few upgrades on an offense that was already the league's second-best unit last season, according to Football Outsiders. With Tom Brady playing some of the best football of his career heading into his first season as a 40-year-old, this Patriots offense could be even more dominant in 2017.

QB

We've seen older quarterbacks' play suddenly fall off a cliff with next to no warning in the past.

The most glaring example would be Peyton Manning setting single-season records in 2013, and then throwing 9 TD's and 17 INT's just two seasons later before retiring. Brady doesn't have the history of neck injuries that Manning had, but Father Time is undefeated and Brady won't be able to play at this level forever. However, I won't be betting against the greatest QB who ever lived any time soon.

RB

The Patriots let LeGarrette Blount walk this offseason after he rushed for over 1,100 yards and 18 touchdowns last year. New England signed Mike Gillislee to replace Blount as the bruising power back, and they have multiple versatile weapons joining him in the backfield with James White, Dion Lewis, and Rex Burkhead.

This Patriots backfield will be the definition of "running back by committee" in 2017 where each player should have his chance to shine.

WR/TE

Rob Gronkowski may be the league's most dangerous weapon when he's healthy, but he hasn't played a 16-game season since 2011. The Patriots were able to win the title without him last season thanks to contributions from some new faces in Chris Hogan and Malcolm Mitchell along with Brady's favorite target, Julian Edelman.

Brady finally has a legitimate deep threat after the Patriots traded for a disgruntled Brandin Cooks this offseason, which injects some major speed into this group of pass-catchers.

OL

The return of famed offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia turned a weakness into a strength last season as the Patriots' O-Line proved to be one of the league's best units.

Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon were an outstanding duo of tackles, and C David Andrews and G Shaq Mason were both well above-average at their positions. The weakest link was rookie G Joe Thuney, but he has plenty of potential and should be vastly improved in his second season working with Scarnecchia.

The Patriots lost an important contributor in LeGarrette Blount, but Gillislee could even be an upgrade as he's younger and has been a more efficient runner in his career (5.7 yards per carry in 2016).

The only major change in the offense should be throwing more deep balls with Brandin Cooks as a burner on the outside, which opens up the underneath passing game that the Patriots execute so well. New England will get Tom Brady for a full 16-game season this year, and defensive coordinators around the league are already losing sleep thinking up ways to try to defend this offense.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED