Heading into the 2024 season, the Patriots clearly have issues along their offensive line that will likely complicate things until they get it figured out.
Through the last few practices, and even in last week’s preseason game, they have a group that Jerod Mayo and his staff appear to believe might be their “best five” ahead of the season. That group, to this point anyway, seems to be Vederian Lowe (LT), Sidy Sow (LG), David Andrews (C), Mike Onwenu (RG), and Chukwuma Okorafor (RT).
That was who New England sent out there to begin last Thursday night’s contest against the Panthers, with that group seeing two offensive series, one in front of Jacoby Brissett, and the other in front of rookie Drake Maye.
That led to a total of 10 snaps for each of them, with Lowe being the lone player who saw some additional playing time after he saw seven additional snaps for a total of 17.
Still, that first unit had its issues, including one play where it wasn’t noticeable in real time, but while facing a 3rd-and-12, Alex Van Pelt dialed up a screen to Antonio Gibson that saw Maye take a shot after Lowe got driven back, with his man spinning him around and then delivered a leg whip to Maye while passing dangerously close to the rookie QB’s knees.
The belief with Lowe is that they like his athleticism for the zone run plays that the team may want to employ. However, so far, Lowe has continued having issues and has been shaky at best. If what we’ve seen is any indication, barring a major turnaround, it would be tough to imagine seeing him out there protecting Brissett’s blindside in Week 1.
Meanwhile, Okorafor has since settled in on the right after starting off the preseason on the left side, and Caedan Wallace’s situation is another one to monitor as he seemingly got nicked up and is still trying to get healthy. The rookie has seen time on both sides, and it feels like they’re still trying to figure out exactly where he fits.
At this point in the preseason, Onwenu has been the guy who has stood out during the competitive periods, with the veteran completely dominating most of the guys he faces. Eliot Wolf called him ‘the best free agent tackle’ on the market before the club extended him this offseason, which would leave you to believe that moving back there remains a possibility.
Onwenu said back in May that being back out on the right seemed to be what he was expecting.
“Throughout the whole process, we spoke about me playing tackle,” said Onwenu. “Even after I signed, that was still the same thing. So, under my notion, I’m playing right tackle.”
So far, that hasn’t happened. Instead, he’s gone back to his previous spot at right guard as the club continues trying to give reps to its younger players on the edges.
In a perfect world, someone else would develop, allowing Onwenu to maintain that dominant presence inside. It’s also possible that in the offense Van Pelt is trying to run, having more athletic players on the edges is a preference, but it obviously can’t come at the expense of protection.
Maybe the Patriots will shift back to what worked in 2023 and move Onwenu back out to tackle, and then try and see who pans out on the left. Thursday night will likely be a second glimpse of the first team who will potentially see some additional action as they continue trying to work out the kinks.
The only problem is, they’re running out of time. In a couple of weeks, camp will be over and practice time will be at a premium, which is what will make whatever playing time Maye is able to get over these final two games that much more important. It also doesn’t change the fact that they still need to protect him while he’s out there.
For now, they’ve got their work cut out for them as they continue trying to come up with an answer. They’re lucky they’ve got Onwenu in their back pocket if it all goes south on the right side. But whoever is ultimately left as the last man standing on the left is clearly going to be a huge key to whatever success they potentially have this season.
Maybe they’ll get lucky during final cutdowns and can make a deal for someone serviceable enough to get them through this season. Or maybe one of those names emerges and will play well enough to get them through.
But where they are now certainly won’t be good enough, and it will be a problem that will continue to hang over their heads until they obviously get it figured out.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
A key variable here on the problem statement, may not be just pure personell and finding 5 guys. I believe there is one other key variable and that is mastering AVPs new offense. A lesser variable (maybe lesser) is having changed up to 3 spots (LT, LG, RT) and time for the line to gel as a unit. The media or fans can’t answer the question of ‘weighting’ those challenges. However, even a dumb fan like me knows that the whole of these things challenges combined is going to take well beyond an off season and summer camp. And that… Read more »