The decline of a dynasty: The Patriots had a 'difficult' two seasons. Can Mike Vrabel reignite them?

The New England Patriots are coming off back-to-back 4-13 seasons .

Mike Vrabel was hired after firing first-year head coach Jerod Mayo in January .

The Patriots have undergone a thorough transformation over the past five months with coaches, executives and players.

ESPN puts the Patriots ' projected win total at 8.5 , down from 4.5 last year .

New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel hired Ryan Cowden as the team's No. 2 executive.

Cowden had previously worked with the Patriots in Tennessee from 2018 to '22 as vice president of player personnel.

The Patriots ' 11 -member draft class has injected much-needed youth into the roster.

Of 91 players on the roster, only 47 of them were with New England last season .

The Patriots invested big in free agency for inside linebacker Robert Spillane , outside linebacker Harold Landry and cornerback Carlton Davis III .

The Patriots ' first four picks in the draft on offense -- Campbell , Henderson , Kyle Williams and Jared Wilson -- were an intentional strategy to provide more infrastructure around Maye .