The 2026 New England Patriots might not be able to match the impressive 14-3 record they put together a season ago, but with training camp on the horizon, this much seems certain: On paper, this is a better football team.They traded for a top-10 wide receiver, improved the offensive line and upgraded at safety. Oh, and their MVP-level quarterback still hasn’t reached his prime.Practices begin for the Patriots on Saturday, though they won’t be in full pads until next week. Still, this is a good time to revisit the offseason by looking at the best moves the Patriots made since their Super Bowl loss nearly six months ago.Why the Patriots traded for A.J. BrownChad GraffTrading for A.J. BrownLet’s start with the obvious one. The Patriots went out and acquired a top-10 wide receiver without giving up any players. This is a franchise that has struggled mightily to draft and develop outside receivers, so instead of going down that road again, they sought Brown, who quickly becomes the team’s best outside receiver since Randy Moss.The move is so important for what it means for Drake Maye. This is the time to go all in and surround your young quarterback with the best weapons possible. Maye only has one season remaining before he’s eligible to negotiate what’s expected to be a lucrative extension. So it makes sense to be aggressive now during Maye’s cost-controlled seasons.But the other aspect of the move is the way Brown should dictate how defenses play against New England. A year ago, defenses often lined up against the Patriots with a single high safety, unafraid of the team’s receivers beating them deep. That contributed to heavy boxes, which is part of the reason the Pats’ running game struggled to find consistent success.With Brown, though, the expectation is the Pats will face more two-deep-safety defenses. That could limit their explosive plays on offense, but it could open up a lot in the running game.Signing Alijah Vera-TuckerThis was a risky move given the 27-year-old’s injury history, but it could be a brilliant one for the Pats. They needed a steady, veteran left guard who could slide between the young duo of left tackle Will Campbell and center Jared Wilson.Vera-Tucker can be more than that. When he’s healthy, he has been one of the game’s best guards. If he can be that again, Campbell’s job will get easier, too, after playing next to a struggling rookie a year ago.Keeping the coaching staff in placeThis may be more good fortune than outright good work from the Patriots, but it’s remarkable that a team that won 17 games a year ago (including the playoffs) and went to the Super Bowl is returning basically the same coaching staff. No key figures have been poached by other teams.Thomas Brown remains an important sidekick on offense for Josh McDaniels. Terrell Williams remains as an important sounding board on defense for Zak Kuhr. And even the position coaches are mostly the same.For a franchise that hasn’t had much continuity in recent years, this is incredibly valuable. And if the Pats have similar success to a year ago, it’s probably a benefit they won’t have next year.Adding Reggie GilliamFor all of the success the Patriots offense had last year, coach Mike Vrabel identified two areas where the team needs to improve: inside the red zone and rushing consistency. Gilliam should play a big part in the latter.A year ago, New England got plenty of explosive plays on the ground (thanks largely to TreVeyon Henderson). But it also faced a lot of stacked boxes and struggled to generate consistent yardage. The team ranked 27th in rushing success rate in the second half of last season.McDaniels clearly hopes that using a fullback will help fix that problem. The Patriots moved Jack Westover from tight end to fullback, and it yielded mixed results.But with a full offseason to remedy things, the Pats went out and signed one of the league’s best fullbacks in Gilliam, someone they’re expected to lean on plenty this season as they look to run the ball more consistently.Sliding Jared Wilson to centerA year ago, Wilson entered training camp in a competition with Garrett Bradbury for the center job. But Wilson had early issues snapping the ball and slid to left guard. It was a way for him to learn the speed of the NFL — not to mention a complex offense — without having too much on his plate as a rookie.This offseason, the Pats traded Bradbury, which allowed Wilson to move back to his natural position of center. It also allows the Pats to put a veteran between Campbell and Wilson.So as long as Wilson’s snapping issues of a year ago are behind him, this looks like a prudent move for New England.