It's 12, 6 offense, 4 defense, 2 ST though some of those guys might well get cut before then.Jeff Howe from The Athletic (paywall) did an article citing a source saying Pats have no interest in Newton nor Dalton. Doesn't mention if there's a link to last week's Curran report, but if not, that's 2 sources (still pretty thin) saying no interest while giving the complimentary reports on Stidham a lot of emphasis. I like that JS is best positioned to take full advantage of the young (and cheap) receivers. If the OL is healthy, his protection should be good and I'd expect they'd add 2 solid blocking TE's. They'll probably mirror a lot of the attack that early TB used with allowances made for the strengths and weaknesses of JS compared to TB.
There was a chart online and it outlined by position the Pats players signed after 2021. There were 11 total with the vast majority on O. This draft simply has to be D heavy so what Stidham has to work with now is likely what he'll be working with this season.
If the new era is finally here, it's an exciting unknown.
For 2022 here are the players under Contract:
Offense:
QB- Stidham
OL- Mason
OL- Froholdt
OL- Cajuste
WR- Harry
RB- Harris
Defense:
CB- Jones
CB- Williams
Edge- Winovich
DL- Cowart
Special Teams;
LS- Cardona
P- Bailey
The only players not on rookie deals are Mason and Jones, and Mason is the only one of the 12 under contract beyond 2022.
I really doubt the presence of guys like Harris and Cajuste or even Froholdt are going to impact which side of the ball the Patriots draft on, their cap and roster as so wide open that they are free to draft whoever the best players are available, since long term there is not a single position that they won't need a good player at (especially if it has the benefit of being on a nice cheap rookie deal).
The Patriots 2022 is bare on purpose, they made a decision on timelines, and this year is the year of eating a big cap hit to make sure that 2021 and 2022 are years they can spend in free agency if they want to.