Some Patriots news on this Wednesday:
1) While the offensive line is certainly a key storyline heading into training camp, how things ultimately shape up from top-to-bottom is going to be curious, especially when it comes last year’s draft pick, Caedan Wallace.
The former standout from Penn State came into last summer with high expectations, with the hope that he could potentially make the transition from right tackle to left tackle after being taken with the 68th overall selection in Round 3 of the 2024 Patriots Draft.
Wallace played right tackle in college opposite Olu Fashanu, who was selected in the first round ahead of him by the Jets. Wallace was someone the Patriots clearly viewed highly as an offensive line prospect, with Eliot Wolf talking about the fact they viewed him as someone who could fit whatever role they needed, in addition to tackle.
“He was a guy that we felt was athletic enough to possibly make the switch over on the left side,” said Wolf during his press conference following Day two last April. “Really good pass protector. Really took a big step forward this year as a four-year starter. Athletic, can bend, strong, powerful, tough, can possibly play guard. Think he can be a four-position guy, but definitely feel like he can play on the left side.”
Wolf added that one of the reasons why Wallace played right tackle was simply because Penn State had someone like Fashanu to anchor the other side. After being selected, the rookie made it clear he had no doubts he could play on that side.
“Extremely confident,” said Wallace. “I mean, I play every position on the line, and I’m just excited to get there and learn under some great coaches and get after it.”
However, it’s doubtful they expected him to see his number called so early. Chukwuma Okorafor was initially the player they expected to start there to begin the season. But Okorafor, sounded uncomfortable during preseason with the transition, raising a red flag about how things might go there ahead of the season.
Unfortunately, he lasted just 12 snaps in the opener against the Bengals before being replaced by Vederian Lowe.
There would not be a 13th.
Okorafor left the team after that game and was later placed on the reserved/left squad list. He’s since landed with the Jets in New York after signing with them back in March.
Wallace got the starting nod at left tackle the next week against the Jets, but a knee injury he suffered after he got his leg rolled up on knocked him out of the game, which essentially ended whatever momentum he had and we didn’t see him again until Week 17 when he saw some action at right tackle against the Chargers, and he saw some additional snaps there again in the finale against Buffalo.
With the addition of Will Campbell two months ago and the club having signed Morgan Moses, any need for Wallace to contribute at tackle in 2025 might have to wait a year. Instead, as Wolf hinted, his versatility is apparently now being tested.
Karen Guregian of MassLive recently noted that Wallace was among several players competing with Cole Strange for the left guard spot, with that part of the line remaining arguably the biggest question up front.
2) It sounds like former Patriots center David Andrews has landed a radio gig after retiring recently.
Beasley Media announced on Tuesday that Andrews will have a weekly appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak and Bertrand during the 2025 New England Patriots season.
“David’s leadership and deep understanding of the game made him a standout on the field, and we’re excited to bring that same level of insight and authenticity to our listeners,” said Rick Radzik, Program Director at 98.5 The Sports Hub in a release by the station. “He’s a natural fit for our lineup and the perfect voice to help break down the season from a player perspective.”
Andrews said during his retirement ceremony that he didn’t have any plans to coach and that his initial plan was to spend more time with his family while possibly mixing in some time on the golf course. The veteran, who already has a podcast with former Patriots QB Brian Hoyer called, The Quick Snap, said in the release that he’s looking forward to having this connection as he begins his first season away from football.
“I’ve enjoyed a great relationship with the Sports Hub since coming to New England 10 years ago,” said Andrews. “I’m looking forward to providing my analysis and perspective across the station’s various platforms this season.”
Andrews was always first to the podium and never shied away from giving his honest opinions following each game. That should make his insight interesting each week to follow as Mike Vrabel begins his first season with the team.
3) One other notable thing this offseason is the fact that Vrabel and the front office has continued building out things in the front office Analytics remains a focus, especially considering their recent hires in director of coaching analytics Ekene Olekanma, which has since been followed up with the addition of personnel analytics coordinator, Max Mulitz.
While Bill Belichick did start putting more of an emphasis on analytics toward the end of his tenure, it feels like that’s an area the team is now starting to embrace even further. That certainly makes sense given how much other teams around the league are doing the same.
Vrabel talked about Olekanma’s addition last week, noting that his experience as a player adds another advantage since he has a first-hand understanding ahead of just looking at numbers.
“We’ll add a couple of other people there, but I think that just having somebody that’s dedicated, that’s been in that role, that can manage the people that we have here,” said Vrabel. “He did a fantastic job in his interview process and meeting with all the different groups that we feel like he’s going to be able to work with.”
“He played football. Not that that’s a prerequisite, but you have to have ability to not only take these numbers and pull them out of wherever they pull them out of. I’m not going to pretend that I know, but also have some application to it and be able to explain it to the coaches and say, ‘How much is too much?’ Probably need more. However we can make our jobs more efficient and better is something that I’m excited about. We’re all excited about him doing.”
When asked whether or not Vrabel will be asking their advice on game day, he went on to say that his relationship with John Streicher (known as “Stretch” with Vrabel), is already what he called a “proven system,” with him being the one he seeks advice from at various points throughout the game. However, it sounds like he will be asking for as much information ahead of the game as possible, and that would be an area someone like Olekanma would contribute information that the two would then take with them into the game.
“Yeah, I mean, that’ll be Stretch and I,” said Vrabel when asked if he’d seek advice from the analytics guys during the game. “That’s a pretty proven system. But I would say that he would be involved.”
“That would be one area that he would help us and help me and Stretch specifically outside of, let’s say, the game planning or the self-scout or the opponent’s pre-advanced report or anything that they may do. We’d carve out some time for him I and Stretch based on who we’re playing, how aggressive we need to be, what are the field conditions, what are the wind, what are the game conditions. That would all be part of what he would do.”
“But I would imagine that the communication would still stay between Stretch and I, not that he wouldn’t communicate with him throughout the game.”
4) Looking back at where the team was this time of year back in 2003, there were some changes going on along the defensive line as Belichick worked on transitioning to a 3-4 base defense.
In minicamp, it was rookie 1st round pick Ty Warren, who the Patriots were working into the rotation on the outside alongside third-year tackle Richard Seymour, with Jarvis Green, Ken Kocher, Ethan Kelly, and 4th round draft choice Dan Klecko each competing for the nose tackle spot.
Belichick also said at the time that Rick Lyle would also work at both the end and tackle spot, with Anthony Pleasant working at right end. On the other side, it was Bobby Hamilton he said would be working with Warren at the left end, although he felt it might be a while before Warren is ready to start.
Both Pleasant and Hamilton were in the final years of their contracts, and Belichick made it clear prior to the offseason that the goal was to get younger and faster on defense. Those moves were just the starting point, with Belichick explaining there would probably be changes.
“Right now, you have got to start somewhere,” Belichick told the media at the time. “Like we usually do in training camp, we may end up shuffling [the line-up] later on, maybe a week through [training camp] and put [Ty] Warren in there. I don’t know. We will start there.”
In addition, it was Green who was in a battle for more playing time, with the coaching staff having talked to him about moving back inside. Given that the club didn’t have an established nose tackle, Belichick felt it was an opportunity for him to earn a bigger role.
“We have talked to Jarvis about [moving back inside],” said Belichick. “Hopefully he has not forgotten everything that he has learned at end. There is always a possibility that we could move him back out to end for a number of reasons.”
“The upside for Jarvis is that there really isn’t an established nose at this point on out team. He has an opportunity to go in and really get a headstart and a jump on that position and maybe win it if he is the best guy, beating out [Richard] Seymour and [Anthony Pleasant]. Maybe he will beat them out. I don’t know. “
“There is an opportunity for him to get a lot of playing time.”
For Green, the rest is history. He went on to become a mainstay on defense through the 2009 season, while Seymour, who was in the final year of his contract,heading into that ’09 season, found himself blindsided by a trade that was definitely among the most unexpected transactions during Belichick’s tenure.
But the transition of what they were going through back in June of 2003 was a storyline that was interesting during a period where the club was on the verge of two-straight championship seasons, giving them three in four years.
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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.
Caeden Wallace. I saw so much negativity on this guy from the draftniks and others. Condemnation abounded. Reality is, Wallace has not proved he can effectively start any position, or be a solid backup swing tackle or guard. Not yet. To early. More-so, Wallace hasn’t proved he CAN’T start at LT, RT or guard. Wallace hasn’t proved he’s a bust like so many have vented, even before Wallace stepped on Gillette synthetic sod. He’s just a guy coming off a rookie injured season of which it seemed he needed more time regardless of that physical injury that sidelined him. Opinions… Read more »
I agree – I thought people crucified Wallace without cause and he was a good player who just needed time to get stronger and develop. Robinson had some good moments as well and both could ultimately end up contributing. The hope is obviously that they’ll have a more consistent group from start to finish this season considering all the different offensive line combinations in 2024, but we’ll see how all of that looks when they get back on the field next month.