Player Signing Onwenu Re-signed Per Ian Rap: 3 years: $57 million.

[dex13]

Why would Onwenu move outside to a position he's not as good at?

He's very good at RT....but is just better at RG. And tackles are still paid more.

 

[dex13]

19m per year feels a bit steep for a right tackle. But let's be real we desperately needed a solid offensive lineman to build around.

Hopefully we also find an LT soon.

Good ones cost. Since we don't have Scar anymore, the days of getting quality play from bargain basement signing are ova.

 

[patfanken]

He's very good at RT....but is just better at RG. And tackles are still paid more.

Can't agree more. All those years Matt Light was a very "solid" starting LT, I believed he'd have been a perennial all pro LG had he'd have been given a chance. Same goes for Owenu. In an ideal world 2 great OT's fall into the Pats lap and Mike goes back to RG and Sow and Strange can fight it out for the LG job.

Or even better, as I mentioned LAST season and several have mentioned since, move the uber althletic Strange to LT and have an OL of Strange Sow, Andrews, Owenu and some FA or draftee that winds up being at LEAST a solid NFL starter. Actually now that I see it, I'd sign up for that right now. That wouldn't be a great OL from the get go, but COULD develop into one by the end of the year.

BUT if Mike winds up being the RT this season I'd be fine with that. He had very good PFF stats at that position

 

[PatsFan2]

Can't agree more. All those years Matt Light was a very "solid" starting LT, I believed he'd have been a perennial all pro LG had he'd have been given a chance. Same goes for Owenu. In an ideal world 2 great OT's fall into the Pats lap and Mike goes back to RG and Sow and Strange can fight it out for the LG job.

Or even better, as I mentioned LAST season and several have mentioned since, move the uber althletic Strange to LT and have an OL of Strange Sow, Andrews, Owenu and some FA or draftee that winds up being at LEAST a solid NFL starter. Actually now that I see it, I'd sign up for that right now. That wouldn't be a great OL from the get go, but COULD develop into one by the end of the year.

BUT if Mike winds up being the RT this season I'd be fine with that. He had very good PFF stats at that position

Many said Onwenu was terrible @ RT but what do I know. Guess they didn't see that Turnstyle V Lowe play arrow to the QB. .

 

[patfanken]

Many said Onwenu was terrible @ RT but what do I know. Guess they didn't see that Turnstyle V Lowe play arrow to the QB..

If he was so terrible as so many glib poster just casually announce, then why was his market so hot. Why was he ranked in the top 20 of available FA's (17 IIRC) and why had so many made him the second T on the board after, I think, TSmith. (whom I would LOVE to see the Pats sign despite all the past injury concerns. Sometimes you have get lucky, like the C's Porzingas....so far.

Football Professionals, not football fans seem to like him very much.

BTW- I ask again, anyone have any idea what we have left after all the recent signings or at least an approximation

 

[Hammer of Thor]

Contract details.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Or even better, as I mentioned LAST season and several have mentioned since, move the uber althletic Strange to LT and have an OL of Strange Sow, Andrews, Owenu and some FA or draftee that winds up being at LEAST a solid NFL starter.

I believe you overestimate Strange's abilities. If Strange was suited for left tackle they would have played him there. We had guys like Wynn and Brown phoning in their play at LT the past couple of years and never once did the coaches consider playing Strange at LT. I think there's a reason why. They saw him in practice every day and knew his limitations.

 

[borisman]

Can we get confirmation from the Pats that Onwenu will indeed be moved to RT?

 

[Hugepatsfan]

Fine, play him at RT for now. Probably make the most sense for this roster where Strange/Sow are both young and good enough to play at the guard spots.

I still hope that next year we transition Strange inside to C to replace Andrews (I presume he'll retire), Sow can go back to his college position of LG. Onwenu can settle in at RG where he can be a pro bowler as opposed to just good at RT.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Can we get confirmation from the Pats that Onwenu will indeed be moved to RT?

He's better at G, but it solves a T hole for now where they can play Sow at RG.

 

[upstater1]

Fine, play him at RT for now. Probably make the most sense for this roster where Strange/Sow are both young and good enough to play at the guard spots.

I still hope that next year we transition Strange inside to C to replace Andrews (I presume he'll retire), Sow can go back to his college position of LG. Onwenu can settle in at RG where he can be a pro bowler as opposed to just good at RT.

We drafted Jake Andrews to be David A's replacement, and Andrews looked really good when he played LG last year.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

We drafted Jake Andrews to be David A's replacement, and Andrews looked really good when he played LG last year.

Yeah, he did look good when he played. But they chose to start Sow and Strange over him still so as of right now they seem to think those are better options. So I'm just assuming that in a scenario where Onwenu is moved back to RG and replaced by a more natural RT and provided that Strange can transition effectively to Center, that Jake Andrews would still be behind those guys. Which would make him a good depth option, which is always welcome.

Now maybe even with Onwenue eventually moving to RG...

1) Andrews could eventually surpass Strange or Sow on the depth chart and become a better option, even if they didn't seem to see it that way last year.

2) Maybe Andrews already is a better option and them playing Strange/Sow over himewas tied to perceived higher developmental potential that won't be realized.

3) Maybe Strange just can't play Center like it was speculated he could in the draft process, which means JAndrews is the DAndrews replacement and then Strange/Sow/Onwenu need to figure out the guard spots between them.

4) Maybe Onwenu, with full commitment to the position for the first time, settles in so well at RT that moving him to the less valuable RG position is a moot point. In which case JAndrews can play inside along with Strange/Sow.

Just me personally, from what I've seen....

1) I don't think Onwenu will ever be so great at RT that we aren't better off adding a more natural player there and moving Onwenu inside so he can be a pro bowl caliber RG.

2) Sow/Strange are more naturally talented than JAndrews.

3) Optimism that Strange can handle a move to Center as some speculated pre-draft.

If all that holds true, then it points to an eventual group of Sow/Strange/Onwenu on th einterior with Andrews being a good backup.

 

[Ross12]

I do think I saw Onwenu make some comments pre-signing that he was looking to change his diet and workout routine to actually target being a tackle, as opposed to working all offseason on being a guard and then being moved to tackle mid-season.

We'll see what difference that makes in his play, in addition to a transition to a new scheme and offense.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Resurrecting this thread. ESPN interviewed execs where they vote on top 10 G's in the NFL and Owenu didn't make the cut. He was paid within a top 5 for T's in the NFL where execs view him more as a G and/or combo T/G. This is a bad contract and the Pats overpaid.

https://www.wtnh.com/sports/sports-illustrated/arena-nfl/si-new-england-patriots-nfl/37053130/nfl-execs-coaches-stack-up-patriots-mike-onwenu-against-top-iols/

 

[Vindicate]

Resurrecting this thread. ESPN interviewed execs where they vote on top 10 G's in the NFL and Owenu didn't make the cut. He was paid within a top 5 for T's in the NFL where execs view him more as a G and/or combo T/G. This is a bad contract and the Pats overpaid.

https://www.wtnh.com/sports/sports-illustrated/arena-nfl/si-new-england-patriots-nfl/37053130/nfl-execs-coaches-stack-up-patriots-mike-onwenu-against-top-iols/

This article isn' really saying anything of merit about his play. It doesn't suggest they overpaid, it mainly says "he's a great player. he didn't make it into the guard rankings from some random exec survey. it probably doesn't help that he was on a bad offense. they also see him as a combo."

I'm failing to understand how this translates to a bad signing.

 

[TheRainMaker]

This article isn' really saying anything of merit about his play. It doesn't suggest they overpaid, it mainly says "he's a great player. he didn't make it into the guard rankings from some random exec survey. it probably doesn't help that he was on a bad offense. they also see him as a combo."

I'm failing to understand how this translates to a bad signing.

He's not ranked in the top 10 among NFL execs?

 

[rkarp1]

there are 64 starting OG's in the league.
I would think Onwenu ranks in that 10-15 area, and his salary is commensurate.

re Jake Andrews, not only did an injured Strange and Sow get the nod ahead of him, so did Mafi.

I too am intrigued if Strange has any positional versatility, but am concerned this may be a lost season for him

 

[captain stone]

Resurrecting this thread. ESPN interviewed execs where they vote on top 10 G's in the NFL and Owenu didn't make the cut. He was paid within a top 5 for T's in the NFL where execs view him more as a G and/or combo T/G. This is a bad contract and the Pats overpaid.

https://www.wtnh.com/sports/sports-illustrated/arena-nfl/si-new-england-patriots-nfl/37053130/nfl-execs-coaches-stack-up-patriots-mike-onwenu-against-top-iols/

Yep; not nearly as stupid as the Uncle Dugg re-sign, but still…

It’s also not as bad as the Shack Mason extension; that one was ****ing Awful for a couple of reasons…

 

[mgteich]

re Jake Andrews, not only did an injured Strange and Sow get the nod ahead of him, so did Mafi.

Andrews is the backup center and emergency backup guard.

Please indicate all the games where the starting center was injured and Jake Andrews didn't play.

Yes, Mafi was started ahead of him at OG for all but a couple of games where Jake was tried. Mafi was sooo successful that the team brought in three guards (Jordan, Leverett and Robinson).

 

[TheRainMaker]

Yep; not nearly as stupid as the Uncle Dugg re-sign, but still…

It’s also not as bad as the Shack Mason extension; that one was ****ing Awful for a couple of reasons…

I can't see where his contract stacked up at the time (I think it was near the top), but it's another example of how signing a player prematurely can cause you to lose a better player not far down the road like Thuney.

I hate the Dugger signing. They set his value with the transition tag while no team was interested in him at $13M and then just paid him more money. Lol. Peppers could've taken his spot and that money could've been applied to a real FS.