Where do we need to improve

[TommyD4207]

Onwenuw is tough, he never misses a game, and he's better than folks give him credit.... which doesn't mean anything to some people here.
He's not a problem .
If they can work the contract, it's all good.

The contract is the problem. He's not worth Milton Williams money, which was awfully close to what he was getting.

 

[jimnance]

Mike Reiss had one very interesting stat this morning:
The Seahawks were #32 in cash spending this past season,
the Rams were #31 and
the Patriots were #17.
Those were the unquestioned 3 best teams in the NFL.
To paraphrase Reiss :
".. it ain't how much you spend...
...it's  how you spend".
Good for some certain posters here to keep that in mind who have whined about Patriots cash spending.

 

[Triumph]

Alec Pierce. Best deep ball WR in 2025
Drake Maye best deep ball QB in 2025

Would Indy let him go?

 

[dliverey44]

Onwenuw is tough, he never misses a game, and he's better than folks give him credit.... which doesn't mean anything to some people here.
He's not a problem .
If they can work the contract, it's all good.

I am in favor of keeping Owenu because he has been good this season. His base salary is 16M but he does not have GTD money, so if kept his contract will probably be redone and cap space can be be aquired that route. I would love to see David Edwards brought in at LG, so our OL would be WC-Edwards-Wilson-Owenu-Moses/rookie.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

They have not had a gamechanger at TE since Gronk. Draft a young guy with potential that can grow with the team.

Pass rush needs improvement. They were at the bottom of the league in sacks.

WR 1 that can get open consistently. Easier said than done. But it absolutely needs to happen. Whether by draft or FA.

Maye needs to work on taking check downs more often. A guy who wants to air it out all the time probably won't win a SB in today's NFL. Defenses are too good. His release is too slow and increases unnecessary sacks/pressure. Get someone with lots of knowledge to work with on it.

Reminder: In most games Maye only throws about 10–12 passes that go more than 10 yards past the LOS.

 

[dliverey44]

The contract is the problem. He's not worth Milton Williams money, which was awfully close to what he was getting.

ummm maybe your not mathing today.

Owenu 3/57M with 36.5M GTD= 19M AAV
Milton 4/104M with 51M GTD= 26M AAV

That isn't close at all

I get that you don't like Owenu but you got stop with spreading nonsense. I mean if you say he is paid like a top 5 OG and he is not playing to the level (debatable), but its not an out of pocket take.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

ummm maybe your not mathing today.

Owenu 3/57M with 36.5M GTD= 19M AAV
Milton 4/104M with 51M GTD= 26M AAV

That isn't close at all

I get that you don't like Owenu but you got stop with spreading nonsense. I mean if you say he is paid like a top 5 OG and he is not playing to the level (debatable), but its not an out of pocket take.

He is a top 5 paid OG.
Is he a top 5 OG, maybe not (he's paid more than Thuney), but....
Every team has overpaid and underpaid players.
He's a good player. If we could replace him with someone who's play is equal for less $, then any NFL GM worth his salt would explore that. That's easier said than done.
He is far, farrrrrrrrr from our a problem on our Oline.
There is no need to replace him unless you can get equal play for less pay, and again, that's not a simple task.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Mike Reiss had one very interesting stat this morning:
The Seahawks were #32 in cash spending this past season,
the Rams were #31 and
the Patriots were #17.
Those were the unquestioned 3 best teams in the NFL.
To paraphrase Reiss :
".. it ain't how much you spend...
...it's  how you spend".
Good for some certain posters here to keep that in mind who have whined about Patriots cash spending.

Looking at cash spending for 1 year and drawing long-term conclusions like "it ain't how much you spend" means 1. you don't understand employment contracts and math, and 2. you are stubborn and will not listen to people that do.

 

[Give Kraft A Hand]

O-Line, pass rush, TE and WR. In that order.

 

[TommyD4207]

ummm maybe your not mathing today.

Owenu 3/57M with 36.5M GTD= 19M AAV
Milton 4/104M with 51M GTD= 26M AAV

That isn't close at all

I get that you don't like Owenu but you got stop with spreading nonsense. I mean if you say he is paid like a top 5 OG and he is not playing to the level (debatable), but its not an out of pocket take.

He's the 2nd highest paid player on the entire team.
Highest paid last year.
He didn't play anywhere near that level. It's far from nonsense.

 

[dliverey44]

He's the 2nd highest paid player on the entire team.
Highest paid last year.
He didn't play anywhere near that level. It's far from nonsense.

I think he played pretty well this year. But what you had said was he is not a Milton Williams type guy and he is making close to that money. Thats nonsense

What you were doing was exaggerating to strengthen your narrative

 

[TommyD4207]

I think he played pretty well this year. But what you had said was he is not a Milton Williams type guy and he is making close to that money. Thats nonsense

What you were doing was exaggerating to strengthen your narrative

1st highest vs. 2nd highest. It doesn't get much closer than that.
1st highest last year.
That's pretty damn close. That's probably around what Tyler Linderbaum is going go get on the open market, who is a vastly superior player.

Also remember, they cannot run screens to the right side, because Onwenu cannot get out on a screen. They tried early in the year and abandoned it completely.

 

[dliverey44]

1st highest vs. 2nd highest. It doesn't get much closer than that.
1st highest last year.
That's pretty damn close. That's probably around what Tyler Linderbaum is going go get on the open market, who is a vastly superior player.

OK so you aren't talking about Owenu vs Milton actual money...got it

You're talking about their money in relation to everyone else on the team, but in 2026 he will only be 3rd highest player is that any better?

 

[TommyD4207]

OK so you aren't talking about Owenu vs Milton actual money...got it

You're talking about their money in relation to everyone else on the team, but in 2026 he will only be 3rd highest player is that any better?

I dunno. Was he the third best player on the team last year? Was he in the top-10?

 

[dliverey44]

1st highest vs. 2nd highest. It doesn't get much closer than that.
1st highest last year.
That's pretty damn close. That's probably around what Tyler Linderbaum is going go get on the open market, who is a vastly superior player.

Also remember, they cannot run screens to the right side, because Onwenu cannot get out on a screen. They tried early in the year and abandoned it completely.

That is a good point about Owenu not being able to get out in front of screens because of his limited movement. I do agree that he can be upgraded because he does not match some of what McD wants from the OL.

 

[mgteich]

ummm maybe your not mathing today.

Owenu 3/57M with 36.5M GTD= 19M AAV
Milton 4/104M with 51M GTD= 26M AAV

That isn't close at all

I get that you don't like Owenu but you got stop with spreading nonsense. I mean if you say he is paid like a top 5 OG and he is not playing to the level (debatable), but its not an out of pocket take.

We should probably stop posting about how overpaid Onwenu would be if we paid his contracted amount of $17M for his 2026 services.

Perhaps, we should look at the free agent OG's available and see what a comparable player might cost.

2026 Offensive Linemen Free Agents

Tracking the status and signings of all 2026 Offensive Linemen free agents, including total value, average and guarantees.

www.spotrac.com

 

[BennyBledsoe]

Right now, even though it's not even good or maybe not even average, but UNTIL YOU ARE CERTAIN YOU HAVE A BETTER LINE COMBINATION, you do NOT screw with this line. You keep them and hope they improve AT WORSE. You don't risk going back to the offensive line play that produced some of the worst offenses in the league. The CELLAR is an improvement over where we were. I don't even think there's room on a blueprint for how far below the cellar we were on offensive line play. You would need to keep going to the earth's bleepin' core to get to where we were.

 

[TommyD4207]

We should probably stop posting about how overpaid Onwenu would be if we paid his contracted amount of $17M for his 2026 services.

Perhaps, we should look at the free agent OG's available and see what a comparable player might cost.

2026 Offensive Linemen Free Agents

Tracking the status and signings of all 2026 Offensive Linemen free agents, including total value, average and guarantees.

www.spotrac.com

Kevin Zeitler's 36, but he's a massive upgrade over Onwenu at the position (I am not saying 'sign Kevin Zeitler', it doesn't make sense age-wise).

But he's making half what Onwenu is.

In fact, there are two players on that whole list you posted with 'projected market value' at or more than Onwenu's making, David Edwards and Connor McGovern, both of whom are all-pro level players, vastly superior to Mike Onwenu.

You sort of posted the evidence against your own point here.

 

[mgteich]

Right now, even though it's not even good or maybe not even average, but UNTIL YOU ARE CERTAIN YOU HAVE A BETTER LINE COMBINATION, you do NOT screw with this line. You keep them and hope they improve AT WORSE. You don't risk going back to the offensive line play that produced some of the worst offenses in the league. The CELLAR is an improvement over where we were. I don't even think there's room on a blueprint for how far below the cellar we were on offensive line play. You would need to keep going to the earth's bleepin' core to get to where we were.

BASE CASE

CAMPBELL should improve as a starter with health and because of having one year of experience.

WILSON should improve as a starter with health and because of having one year of experience. Of course, we would prefer him being a starter at C, or better yet be a backup; but still, he will be better.

BROWN should improve after having a full year in the system.

ONWENU is what he is.

MOSES should be as good and better with a year in the system.

LOWE is a good backup. (need to re-sign or replace with equal value player). BRYANT is the alternative

MUNFORD is a good backup and our jumbo OT, and should improve with a year in the system. (need to re-sign; shouldn't be an issue)

WALLACE is candidate for employment at Home Depot.
==================================
IMPROVEMENTS
1) Sign a top OL who is an upgrade to Onwenu (and cut or trade Onwenu).
2) Sign a mid-level RG who with the top OL combine to be an improvement.
3) Sign at least a mid-level veteran who is much better than Wilson.
4) Draft a prospect or two, one to replace Wallace and another to compete with Bryant for a roster spot.
========
BOTTOM LINE
A serious improvement

 

[TommyD4207]

Also, it pains me to say it, but @captain stone was right.

You trade for Kevin Zeitler at the deadline, the Patriots probably win the Super Bowl.