The Patriots are set to enter the free agency phase of the 2016 off-season and we\u2019ll explore some of the biggest needs of the team moving forward. And some of the names of their own free agents as well as some of their potential targets.<\/p>\n
Next up on the free agency positional list: Tackles<\/strong><\/p>\n Team Need: High<\/strong><\/p>\n Returning players: <\/strong>Nate Solder (IR), Sebastian Vollmer, Marcus Cannon, Kaevon Milton, Kevin Hughes (IR),<\/p>\n Free Agents<\/strong>: Cameron Fleming (ERFA), LaAdrian Waddle<\/p>\n The Patriots getting overwhelmed at the point of attack in Denver still has Pats fans scratching their heads. It shouldn\u2019t; the Broncos dominated a much better offensive line in Carolina\u2019s during the Super Bowl and got a well-deserved win.<\/p>\n The changes with the Pats began quickly. OL Coach Dave DeGuglielmo was not re-signed and rumors were that the team was ready to move on from him weeks before the AFC Championship Game over the poor play of the unit.<\/p>\n Former LT Matt Light laid a lot of the blame on their poor play by the line not having prepared enough in the silent snap count and mixing it up more to keep Denver guessing. That would rest squarely on DeGuglielmo\u2019s shoulders if true.<\/p>\n Long-time coach Dante Scarnecchia has returned and that has to be a great sign for the offensive line as a whole. Coach Scar always seemed to be able to get the best out of his players and he\u2019s either coached or had a hand in drafting nearly every member of the unit.<\/p>\n After Nate Solder went down with a torn biceps the tackle position suffered. Sebastian Vollmer also missed time as well. Marcus Cannon started for a time and was a lightning rod for criticism and he was especially ineffective down the stretch. Cameron Fleming fared little better. The team brought in LaAdrian Waddle but he too was hurt down the stretch.<\/p>\n So what else will happen in 2016? Solder will return and that is a big plus. He\u2019s signed through 2017 and will be fine at left tackle. Vollmer is returning as the starting right tackle and is on the hook for $2 million. Cannon has a contract that will pay him $3.4 million in 2016. That is far too much for a player of his caliber.<\/p>\n Vollmer is a big guy with back and knee issues, if they can, the Patriots should find a younger, more athletic right tackle and then re-do Vollmer\u2019s contract and move him to swing tackle. That falls in line with the Patriots way of thinking, which is to replace a player perhaps a year too soon rather than a year too late. \u00a0The move would also prolong Sea Bass\u2019 career a bit as well. Cannon\u2019s cap hit can be eliminated and Waddle, who is an intriguing player could be brought back as well.<\/p>\n If they decide that is the way to go\u2026there are some outstanding tackles available in free agency as well as the draft that can be good fits for the Patriots. First up is a tackle who was rated the #1 right tackle by Pro Football Focus (PFF).<\/p>\n Mitchell Schwartz<\/strong> Schwartz is also a very good run blocker rating at #9 according to PFF. While Cleveland LT Joe Thomas gets the lion\u2019s share of the press\u2026and rightfully so, Schwartz had the fourth best pass-blocking grade of any tackle in the league. The 26-year old will turn 27 in June and has proto-typical size at the position at 6\u20195, 320 pounds.<\/p>\n He was taken by the Browns in the 2nd<\/sup> round of the 2012 NFL Draft with the 37th<\/sup> overall pick from the University of California \u2013 Berkeley and played in all 51 games of his college career. His durability has carried over to the pros having started and played in all 64 games of his pro career.<\/p>\n Schwartz scored a 35 on his Wonderlic test where the average NFL players scores a 21.<\/p>\n He\u2019s a guy that would be a perfect fit for the Patriots offense. And in a move signing him would set the edges of the Patriots offensive line for years to come. They could address the replacement of Vollmer sooner rather than later and be able to move him to the swing position which would put them in fantastic position.<\/p>\n And for those wondering how Schwartz fared against Von Miller, who seemed to be in Brady\u2019s grill on every snap? Miller had one pressure for the game. The only thing that could hold up the Patriots on being a landing spot for him is money. He will be highly sought after once free agency starts and the bidding may quickly get too expensive for New England with a limited cap amount to work with.<\/p>\n Next up\u2026a former Seahawk who is coming off of an injury<\/p>\n Russell Okung<\/strong> An interesting tidbit, Okung represents himself, he has no agent so he\u2019s already sent all 32 teams a letter stating that his shoulder will be fine for OTAs and he won\u2019t be held back by this latest injury and surgery which he deemed as \u201cprecautionary\u201d.<\/p>\n While his talent is undeniable, durability, something that plagued New England last season is a concern. He\u2019s only played in 16 games once in his career, back in 2012. He missed eight games during Seattle\u2019s Super Bowl win and three more this season.<\/p>\n While he\u2019s only 28, his game has declined the past couple of years which could precipitate his moving to right tackle\u2026which for New England would be a perfect fit. He\u2019s given up more QB pressures and committed more penalties the last few seasons than before and some teams will say his game is in that slow decline in an attempt to lower his asking price.<\/p>\n Okung would be a really nice fit in New England. He and Solder would give the Patriots a pair of bookend tackles that could be arguably the best in the AFC. The sticking points will be of course money and his injury. With his injury history would Bill Belichick commit a lot of guaranteed money to him? Probably not.<\/p>\n The Patriots could offer a short-term, prove-it type deal to ensure that shoulder is fine and will be moving forward. Would Okung, who\u2019s looking for another big contract agree to that? It is doubtful right now, the market and the interest in him will drive that train. Right now, the chances of him coming here are remote, but it is always worth it to do what the Patriots call their \u201cdue diligence\u201d in kicking the tires.<\/p>\n Next up another under-the-radar guy\u2026<\/p>\n Joe Barksdale<\/strong> He was Philip Rivers\u2019 right tackle in San Diego and allowed the Chargers to move D.J. Fluker to right guard. Barksdale was one of the Bolts bright spots on the offensive line in 2015. He played 1150 snaps last year, second in the league among tackles. He also filled in left tackle on a few occasions.<\/p>\n Playing in the AFC West, Barksdale faced some serious competition as he stood toe-to-toe with the likes of Denver\u2019s Von Miller, Kansas City\u2019s Justin Houston and the Raiders\u2019 Khalil Mack twice a year, so he\u2019s battle tested and can handle the challenge.<\/p>\n An able and durable pass protector, Barksdale would be an immediate fit for the Patriots and an upgrade in terms of age and durability at right tackle. He\u2019s a guy that is looking for some stability so a three-year deal with the kind of money that the team is paying for Marcus Cannon right now with some decent guaranteed money would do the trick.<\/p>\n Barksdale really enjoyed playing for Philip Rivers, he\u2019d love playing for Tom Brady, and with the chance to go deep into the playoffs as an added bonus. He\u2019ll be a guy to monitor once free agency starts.<\/p>\n The Patriots may opt to forego the free agency route and opt to address the tackle issue in the NFL Draft. There are\u2026as always some quality tackles in the draft. Who would still be around in the 2nd<\/sup> round for them?<\/p>\n Germain Ifredi from Texas A&M, Jason Spriggs from Indiana, LeRaven Clark, Texas Tech and Jerald Hawkins, LSU are just a few names that could still be there in the bottom end of Round 2 for the Patriots if they opt to go that route. Of course it is still very early for those type of projections, but we\u2019ll do some detailed breakdowns of the prospects as the draft nears.<\/p>\n Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Listen to our\u00a0<\/em>Patriots 4th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a>\u00a0podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Patriots should find a younger, more athletic right tackle and then re-do Vollmer\u2019s contract and move him to swing tackle. That falls in line with the Patriots way of thinking, which is to replace a player perhaps a year too soon rather than a year too late.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":3877,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[185,460,464,823,833,806,799,48,34,568,885,700,514,884,418,44,70,805,8,803,883,556,13],"class_list":["post-5069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-news","tag-2015-nfl-season","tag-2015-patriots","tag-2015-patriots-season","tag-2016-free-agents","tag-2016-nfl-draft","tag-2016-nfl-off-season","tag-2016-patriots-roster","tag-53-man-roster-projection","tag-bill-belichick","tag-cameron-fleming","tag-joe-barksdale","tag-laadrian-waddle","tag-marcus-cannon","tag-mitchell-schwartz","tag-nate-solder","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-free-agency","tag-patriots","tag-patriots-free-agents","tag-russell-okung","tag-sebastian-vollmer","tag-tom-brady"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nSchwartz is hitting free agency at the perfect time; his value has never been higher and with the talk of the league all about the pass rushers dominating the playoffs, he\u2019s set to cash in. Schwartz had an outstanding 2015 season allowing a combined 12 sacks and pressures in 260 dropbacks. That averages out to one pressure every 22 dropbacks.<\/p>\n
\nOkung has been the Seahawks\u2019 starting left tackle since he was drafted in 2010. Drafted under the old CBA, he\u2019s just finishing up his rookie 6-year, $48.5 million-dollar contract and will be a free agent for the first time in his career. Okung just had shoulder surgery after dislocating it in the playoffs against Arizona.<\/p>\n
\nBarksdale had a very solid season for the San Diego Chargers after signing a one-year deal with the Bolts last May 19. He spent the previous two seasons with the Rams. Barksdale has proto-typical size, 6\u20195, 326 pounds at tackle and at 28 still has quite a few productive years left in his tank.<\/p>\n