FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — When Jon Bon Jovi introduced the New England Patriots at the Super Bowl in February, the team ran out of the tunnel with a familiar starting lineup.The five starting offensive linemen were the same as at the season opener five months earlier. Same quarterback, same running backs, same wide receivers. Same defensive line and same linebackers. Christian Gonzalez was out there after missing the start of the season, but beyond that, it was basically the same team.Lost in all the success of the Patriots’ 2025 season is the reality that they stayed remarkably healthy. Viewed another way, their depth wasn’t really tested.If that becomes the case again in 2026, another Super Bowl is certainly well within reach. But it also underscores another reality largely forgotten amid the team’s success, one coach Mike Vrabel put bluntly after the Patriots’ second preseason game on Saturday.“I do not think we have a very deep team,” Vrabel said.Why a team with Super Bowl aspirations traded one of their best WRsChad GraffOn Monday, Vrabel clarified what he meant. The direct assessment wasn’t a shot at the front office (especially considering Vrabel leads football operations).But it was the truth.Before 2025, several years of poor drafts had left the Patriots without much depth. Only Marcus Jones remains from the 10-man draft class of 2022. Of the seven players picked in the first five rounds of the 2023 draft, only Christian Gonzalez remains. Drake Maye will likely be the only player from the 2024 class to make the roster this season.“I think that when you look at how you want to be constructed, we have to continue to draft very well,” Vrabel said during his WEEI radio appearance Monday.The lack of depth contributes in two ways to the decisions the coaching staff has made this preseason. First, as Vrabel mentioned, it’s part of the reason he has been hesitant to play starters in the exhibition games. If depth is an issue, you need to do everything you can to keep the starters healthy. (Though it’s also worth mentioning that sitting your starters in the preseason is becoming more of a league-wide trend as teams place more value on joint practices, then sit their top players in the exhibition games that follow.)Second, when depth is an issue, giving the backups and younger talent additional reps in games can only help. It can spur development and help identify which players have the most promise.“I mean, depth has to be built,” Vrabel said. “That is something that has to be built through experience and making sure that the guys are in place to be the first backup in. Those are critical. Those are almost starters. We know how many people are going to have to play for you throughout the season and there cannot be a drop-off.”Still, fixing that lack of depth isn’t going to be an easy task in the two weeks that remain before the regular-season opener. A year ago, as a byproduct of the previous season’s record, the Patriots had the fourth-highest priority on the waiver wire, offering them a chance to add players after roster cuts, which is how they landed Tommy DeVito, Charles Woods and Eric Gregory. This season, however, the Patriots enter with the 31st priority on the wire, so it could be difficult to find talent via waivers.When it comes to improving the roster, two other options exist. The first is trades, an avenue the Patriots explored Monday when they sent Kayshon Boutte to the Houston Texans for safety depth in the form of Jaylen Reed and a 2028 seventh-round pick. But without another obvious trade candidate, the Patriots could go the more expensive route and try to add an established veteran.Some big names who fit the Patriots’ needs are edge rushers Joey Bosa and Haason Reddick and linebacker Bobby Wagner. None of them would be long-term fixes to the team’s problems, but they could be enticed by a one-year deal to play for a team with Super Bowl aspirations. They’ve already gone down that road, albeit with a lesser name, signing veteran guard Greg Van Roten last week with the hope of using him as the first interior offensive lineman off the bench.Running back and defensive line are other positions where the Patriots could look to improve their depth.More clarity could arrive on Tuesday when front-office leaders Eliot Wolf and Ryan Cowden are scheduled to meet with the media. On Monday, Vrabel insisted his remark on the team’s depth wasn’t a shot at that group.“We’re all on the same page,” Vrabel said. “There is no front office. There is no back office. There is the Patriots. There is me, there is Eliot, there is Ryan, there is (VP of football operations and strategy) Stretch (John Streicher). I told you those are the people that we rely on to make decisions. So, there is no message.”