What Will the New England Patriots Look Like in 3 Years?

The more things change, the more they the same. This is both an incredibly cliched expression and an apt way to describe the recent history of the New England Patriots.

There have been consistent pieces for the franchise—Tom Brady and Bill Belichick chief among them—but there has also been a revolving door at most positions on the roster.

Heck, in Week 10, tight end Dwayne Allen became the 68th player just to catch a touchdown pass from Brady.

The coaching staff hasn't always remained the same either. Other teams love hiring away New England's coordinators when they can. Romeo Crennel, Charlie Weis, Eric Mangini, Josh McDaniels and Bill O'Brien have all left the Patriots over the years to take head-coaching positions either in the NFL or college.

McDaniels returned as offensive coordinator back in 2012.

We're likely to see some familiar faces and a whole lot of new ones when the Patriots open the 2020 season.

Just for kicks, we're going to peer ahead and try to predict what the franchise might look like three years from now. This is all hypothetical, of course, so let's have a little fun.

Quarterback Situation

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Brady has made no secret of his desire to continue playing football as long as he's able to do so at a high level.

"I always said my mid-40s," Brady said, per Ian O'Connor of ESPN.com, "and naturally that means around 45. If I get there and I still feel like I do today, I don't see why I wouldn't want to continue."

Brady will be 43 in 2020, a year younger than former quarterbacks Warren Moon and Vinny Testaverde were when they retired. Unless his play falls off a cliff in the next couple years, he will probably still be the starting signal-caller in New England.

Considering the team recently traded backup and potential quarterback heir Jimmy Garoppolo, the Patriots probably don't anticipate Brady's play taking a plunge.

A bigger question will probably surround the succession plan New England has in place behind him. Plenty of folks believed Garoppolo was that plan, but he's out. It won't be 32-year-old Brian Hoyer, though he may still be around as a veteran backup.

It's virtually impossible to predict what the quarterback picture will look like in the 2018 and 2019 drafts because of the fluctuation level of draft stock. (Remember when Sam Darnold was a sure thing?)

Given New England's propensity to draft quarterbacks to sit behind Brady high—Garoppolo (2014) in Round 2, Ryan Mallett and Jacoby Brissett (2011 and 2016, respectively) in Round 3—we could see them draft their next guy in the offseason.

Either way, the Patriots will—or at least, had better—have their next signal-caller sitting in waiting three years from now.

Offense Skill Players

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The revolving door of skill players surrounding Brady will continue to spin over the next three years. Only a few familiar faces are likely to remain in 2020.

James White is the only running back under contract through 2020. However, it wouldn't be surprising to see both him and Dion Lewis still with the team because of their versatility.

Unless one of them breaks out and becomes a star sooner than later, both Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead will likely be out of the picture.

We probably won't see aging receivers such as Danny Amendola (32) or Julian Edelman (31) still with the team three years from now. Chris Hogan is 29, but with fewer than six seasons under his belt, he may still be hanging in as part of the offense (he'd be roughly the same age Amendola is now).

Brandin Cooks should still be one of New England's biggest weapons and one of the league's biggest stars, assuming he doesn't price himself off the team. Malcolm Mitchell should be establishing himself and moving into a significant role alongside him.

Expect the Patriots to look to free agency and the draft to fill out the receiving corps and the backfield over the next couple years. They will likely look for a true workhorse back to fill the role LeGarrette Blount held the past couple seasons as well.

The big question is whether oft-injured tight end Rob Gronkowski will still have enough left in the tank at age 31 to be effective. Much will depend on his health over the next two years and his contract demands—he will be a free agent in 2020.

However, our guess is Gronk finishes his career with another team following a most Belichikian trade and that it will happen before 2020. In his place, undrafted rookie Jacob Hollister will be the new Patriots star.

Offensive Line

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The offensive line might look fairly similar come 2020. Center David Andrews is only 25 years old, and guards Shaq Mason and Joe Thuney are both 24. All three interior linemen should still be in their playing primes three years from now.

There's a chance right tackle Marcus Cannon will still be around as well, especially considering his current contract runs through 2020. It's the left tackle position where things are a bit more uncertain.

Current starter Nate Solder is in the final year of his contract and will be 30 at the start of next season. The Patriots may try to re-sign him to a new deal, but they aren't going to overpay to do so. Our guess is New England is on to a new left tackle by 2020.

That left tackle could be Antonio Garcia, who was drafted in the third round of this year's draft. It's more likely, though, the Patriots use a higher draft pick on a left-tackle prospect in the 2018 or 2019 draft.

The 2018 draft isn't expected to be especially deep, but with New England again drafting late in the order, a tackle such as Notre Dame's Mike McGlinchey could make sense at the bottom of Round 1.

Perhaps the Patriots will get lucky and get the best of both worlds. If they can convince Solder to sign a discounted two- or three-year deal to stay with the team, they'll have time to groom a future starter at the position.

Regardless, expect two or three current starters to still be on the line in three years.

Defensive Front Seven

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It's happened largely under the radar, but the Patriots have added a lot of youth to their front seven over the past two years. Many of these players are going to be core members of the defense by 2020.

Trey Flowers and Derek Rivers—who was forced to miss his rookie season this year due to an ACL tear—will be the productive pass-rushers. Fellow rookie Deatrich Wise will be making an even bigger impact as a rotational end in three years' time. Rookie defensive tackle Adam Butler will be one of the star interior defensive linemen in the league and the anchor of New England's front four.

At linebacker, current rookie Harvey Langi will have moved into a starting role. Dont'a Hightower will be 30 and in the final year of his current contract, but he'll still be hanging around as one of the veterans in the middle of the defense.

Kyle Van Noy, who is a year younger than Hightower, will be around as well—and he may be an even more important piece.

Van Noy has seen his role increase significantly this season.

"It's like Kyle Van Noy's role this year is a lot different than what it was last year, and it changed over the course of the year," Belichick explained, per Tim Britton of the Worcester Telegram.

New players will round out the front seven. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Patriots use an early draft pick on an edge-rusher next offseason or even chase a 2018 free agent such as Ezekiel Ansah.

Secondary

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As is the case in the front seven, we're likely to see some departures in the New England secondary in three years.

As of now, cornerback Stephon Gilmore and safety Duron Harmon are the only members of the secondary under contract through 2020.

Harmon received his contract extension during the offseason, and he is clearly a part of the Patriots' long-term plans. It wouldn't be surprising to see him slide into the starting free safety job, currently held by 30-year-old Devin McCourty.

Assuming Gilmore continues playing more like he did against the Denver Broncos and less like he did at the beginning of the season when adjusting to New England's schemes, he could still be locking down one of New England's cornerback spots.

It wouldn't be surprising to see a young cornerback such as Jonathan Jones or Cyrus Jones holding a more significant role by 2020. Many of the familiar names, though—such as McCourty, Patrick Chung and Malcolm Butler—will probably be gone in three years.

What we'll be seeing is a mixture of young up-and-comers and veterans of the New England system—which is exactly what we're used to seeing in the Patriots secondary.

Coaching Staff

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Barring the mightily unexpected, Belichick will still be running the Patriots show in three years. There's a good chance, though, that at least one of his coordinators will leave for a head coaching position by 2020. As mentioned earlier, this is a fairly regular occurrence.

Given the potency of the Patriots offense under offensive coordinator McDaniels, he's our pick to leave New England—for the second time.

Our pick to replace McDaniels? Second-year assistant quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski.

Now, Schuplinski may not seem like a typical candidate—we'd be surprised if you're even familiar with him. However, his path isn't that different from McDaniels' before his first run as offensive coordinator.

Schuplinski is in his fifth year with the Patriots. McDaniels spent five years in New England, two as quarterbacks coach, before taking the OC gig. Similarly, O'Brien spent four years with the Patriots before replacing McDaniels—though he came to New England with more than a decade of coaching experience.

Matt Patricia, who has been New England's defensive coordinator, will round out the big three along with Belichick and Schuplinski.

State of the Franchise

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Perhaps the most important thing the Patriots have done during the Brady-Belichick era is establish a pattern of consistency.

Since 2001, New England has appeared in seven Super Bowls, won five and earned 14 AFC East division titles. The Patriots have only not won the division crown twice in that span—one occurrence coming in 2008, when Brady missed 15 games with a torn ACL. 

Big surprise, we don't believe much will have changed in three years. The Patriots will still be kings of the AFC East, will pick up their sixth Lombardi Trophy between now and 2020 and will have seen Brady win another regular-season MVP award.

Oh, and owner Robert Kraft will have finally seen enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"His legacy has already been built," said Joe Horrigan, the executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, via the Patriots' official website. "When Robert Kraft became the owner, it became his focus and goal to make it a winning franchise, and to that he's excelled."

Three years from now, New England football will still be in good hands.