Why the Best Is Yet to Come for the New England Patriots Offense

The New England Patriots are living the dream right now. They have a future Hall of Fame quarterback at the helm of their offense, and their offense is one of the best in the entire NFL.

If you can even imagine it, the offense is about to get even better. 

Make no mistake; every team wants a quarterback that can play at a level anywhere approaching what Tom Brady has accomplished this season, but there's room for him—and the offense as a whole—to be even better. With several players making their return to the offense over the next few weeks, we could still see this unit grow down the stretch.

Wide receiver Brandon LaFell can come off the physically unable to perform list any time between Weeks 7 and 9. Center Bryan Stork can start practicing between Weeks 7 and 9, but once he returns, the Patriots have 21 days to either make room for him on the active roster or put him on injured reserve and shut him down for the rest of the season.

2015	Patriots	Rank
Points	119	1
Yards	1339	1
Passing yards	1078	1
Passing TDs	9	1
Rushing yards	261	27
Rushing TDs	5	3
Net yards/pass	7.8	5
Yards/rush	3.7	26
Third down %	60	1
Red zone TD %	76.5	4

Tight end Rob Gronkowski has been the Patriots' best red-zone threat this season, but in a few weeks, he won't be the only red-zone threat anymore. LaFell's presence will give Brady yet another big-bodied pass-catcher to target in tight spaces. He caught six touchdowns in the red zone last year in the regular season and playoffs, tied with tight end Tim Wright for second-most on the team behind Gronkowski. 

Between Gronkowski, wide receivers Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and Aaron Dobson, tight end Scott Chandler and running back Dion Lewis, the Patriots have plenty of pass-catching threats at their disposal already. Add LaFell to that equation, and things only get scarier for opposing defenses.

Of course, the Patriots can't put everyone on the field at the same time, so expect LaFell to rotate with Amendola, Chandler and Dobson initially.

But the passing game has hardly even been a topic of discussion in New England, except to say that Brady is on an MVP pace. One thing that people just won't stop talking about is the offensive line. Last year, the Patriots rotated different players in and out on the line, and it was seen as a sign of weakness or lack of confidence in their personnel. This year, they're using the same approach, and it's being called a genius strategy.

Stork's return to the lineup may bring us closer to an answer as to which it is, but then again, it may not. 

The Patriots might just insert Stork into the starting lineup and put undrafted rookie David Andrews back on the bench. That would leave question marks at the two guard spots, where rookies Tre' Jackson and Shaq Mason have shared time with veteran Josh Kline. 

But what about when Ryan Wendell makes his return to the lineup? The veteran lineman could be worked back into the equation slowly, rotating with the other three, or he could be seen as a stabilizing presence in the middle of the line that eliminates the need for the offensive line rotation. Wendell was listed as a full participant on the Patriots' Wednesday practice report, so he could be on his way back sooner than later.

There are a lot of dominoes still left to fall for the Patriots, but over the next few weeks, we could see some development toward the final product for the offense. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and practice reports obtained via team news release.