New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft understands many expect that his team will finish the upcoming NFL season in the basement of the AFC East standings.
“I sort of like that most people are picking us to come in fourth in the division,” Kraft said at an event held at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night, per Patriots beat reporter Zack Cox of NESN.
As of Friday afternoon, OddsChecker listed the Patriots as the top underdogs at +850 odds to claim the division crown behind the Buffalo Bills (+125), New York Jets (+270) and Miami Dolphins (+300).
Now that the Jets have Aaron Rodgers atop their depth chart, most would say based upon stats from last season that New England’s Mac Jones is the least-impressive starting quarterback in the AFC East assuming Tua Tagovailoa of the Dolphins stays healthy and Bills star Josh Allen is truly good with wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
However, the Patriots still have the legendary Bill Belichick serving as their head coach, and his presence theoretically should give New England advantages across numerous game days this fall.
“I think there’s a great chemistry,” Kraft added about his club. “This is a young team, too. This might be one of the youngest teams. I think coach (Belichick) has done a good job overall. I think having (new offensive coordinator) Bill O’Brien come here and work with Mac, they seem to have great chemistry. I’m actually excited about the team.”
OddsChecker also had the Patriots as underdogs (+176, +4) on Friday afternoon for Sunday’s regular-season opener against the reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles which will feature New England honoring retired quarterback Tom Brady. Patriots legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ty Law said Thursday he thinks Brady can help motivate the hosts to earn an upset victory on Sunday, but Kraft didn’t go that far while speaking with reporters.
“In the end, we want to win,” Kraft said about the Week 1 matchup, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.