The New England Patriots were one of the worst teams in the league in 2023, but their issues stemmed from the offense while their defense wasn’t really the problem.

Heading into 2024, New England returned most of their starters, with Lawrence Guy, Adrian Phillips and Jalen Mills being the most impactful players to head out the door this offseason. However, the Patriots will also get Christian Gonzalez and Matthew Judon back after missing most of last year with injuries. And, on top of that, their scheme should remain the same with Jerod Mayo bumping up to head coach and DeMarcus Covington being promoted to defensive coordinator.

On Monday, ESPN’s Mina Kimes appeared on an episode of “NFL Live” and listed her top five defenses for the upcoming year, and New England’s came in at No. 4.

“The New England Patriots are No. 4 for me because they still finished as a top-10 defense last year despite the fact they were the most injured unit in football and they lost their best pass-rusher Matthew Judon as well as rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez who looked fantastic,” Kimes said. “Both of those players come back. Now, they did also lose a guy you might’ve heard of named Bill Belichick, but they picked Jerod Mayo to be the head coach of this team for a reason. I think this unit will continue to play at an extremely high level. In my mind, they are the best defense in the entire NFL.”

One thing that the Patriots need to work on this year is their play against some of the best quarterbacks in the league. They beat up a lot on some lesser names, but this year will present more challenges in that aspect.

If they can stay healthy and get some jumps from their young players like Keion White and Marte Mapu, Kimes could be right on the money.