New England’s sophomore class had some ups and downs last season. The New England Patriots were quite busy during the 2021 offseason. Two years removed from Tom Brady leaving town and effectively ending a two-decade dynasty, they finally had the resources available to kick off their major rebuilding operation. And kick it off they did in rather spectacular fashion: the Patriots were the top-spending team in free agency that year, and added high-profile players on both offense and defense. They later followed that up with another splash in the draft, picking their potential quarterback of the future in the first…