The Patriots entered the offseason with a clear need to upgrade their talent level along the offensive line, and unsurprisingly, they invested significant resources into improving the unit.

Evan Lazar

Offensive Line:Will Campbell,Morgan Moses,Mike Onwenu,Garrett Bradbury,Jared Wilson,Cole Strange,Caedan Wallace,Layden Robinson,Sidy Sow,Vederian Lowe,Demontrey Jacobs,Marcus Bryant,Ben Brown,Yasir Durant,Tyrese Robinson,Jack Conley,Mehki Butler

The Patriots entered the offseason with a clear need to upgrade their talent level along the offensive line, and unsurprisingly, they invested significant resources into improving the unit.

Statistically, New England had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL last season. The Patriots were 31st in pass-blocking win rate and 32nd in run-blocking win rate. Furthermore, the offensive line allowed 33 sacks (29th in the NFL) and 222 total pressures (30th), according to Pro Football Focus. As a result, the Patriots blocking didn't create a functional environment for their quarterbacks or running backs to operate.

With last season in the rearview mirror, New England's plan to field a more viable offensive line this season feels like a surer thing. First, the Patriots hired veteran coach Doug Marrone as their offensive line coach. In 2024, the Pats hired first-time line coach Scott Peters to pair with first-time play-caller Alex Van Pelt. Although talent was the main issue, having Marrone, who has over two decades of NFL coaching experience, paired with OC Josh McDaniels should help the players succeed.

Coaching plays a large role in player development and game planning. The most obvious in-season aspect of line coaching is game-planning opponents' tendencies while scouting individual players on opposing defensive fronts. But there's also a symbiotic relationship between the offensive coordinator and line coach, where each week there are conversations about what plays the staff believes will work best and how to best block for those plays. McDaniels also has a great grasp of how to cover up potential weak spots on the line, whether it's sending help in certain directions, chips, moving pockets, shorter drops, etc. Hopefully, between the talent and coaching upgrades, the Patriots will have a more stable offensive line in front of second-year QBDrake Mayethis season.

As for the personnel moves along the offensive line, the Patriots project to have two new starting tackles this season. First, New England used its best resource, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, on rookie left tackleWill Campbell. The LSU product is a highly athletic, competitive, and tough-minded tackle who projects as a day-one starter. New England also signed veteran RTMorgan Mosesin the initial free agency wave. Moses is heading into his 12th NFL season in what has been an impressive career. The 34-year-old has been durable into his 30s, playing 14 of a possible 17 games over the last two seasons while allowing only two sacks at right tackle for the Jets in 2024.

On the field, Moses should be an upgrade at right tackle, while his leadership is already making an impact. At each spring practice open to the media, Moses was constantly giving tips to Campbell and the Pats younger tackles. Following each practice, Moses has held court, offering his expertise from years in the league. That post-practice group grew over the course of the spring, signaling that Moses' leadership is influencing others to put in extra work. There's a chance that Moses will be a team captain in his first season with the Patriots.

Along with retooling at tackle, the Patriots also made a switch at center, withfranchise great David Andrews retiringafter 10 seasons with the team. After making the difficult decision to move on from Andrews, the club signed former Vikings CGarrett Bradburyand drafted C/GJared Wilsonin the third round. Wilson is a 21-year-old rookie with significant development upside, suggesting that Bradbury will serve as a bridge option until the Georgia product is ready to take over. There's a world where that's sooner rather than later but given that Wilson was a limited participant due to an undisclosed injury in the spring, it's trending toward Bradbury starting the year at center.

The last puzzle pieces for the Patriots starting five are at the two guard spots. The lone returning player guaranteed to start this season is RGMike Onwenu, who took a slight step back last season after the team initially planned to play him at right tackle. Onwenu started five of the first seven games at right tackle a year ago and then was permanently moved to right guard in the second half of the season. From this perspective, right guard is Onwenu's natural position, given his body type and skill set, so keeping him there should stabilize his on-field performance.

With the projected starters at four out of the five spots along the offensive line mostly known, left guard is the one spot where there's a wide-open competition. At this juncture, it's anyone's guess who will be New England's starting left guard for the regular-season opener vs. the Raiders and beyond. After veteran Wes Schweitzer retired, fourth-year pro Cole Strange has the inside track to start at left guard based on the spring. However, one would expect that Sidy Sow, Layden Robinson, Caedan Wallace, Tyrese Robinson, and possibly Wilson will get a shot to compete at left guard during training camp.

The competition at left guard truly begins in padded practices, where it's better to evaluate linemen. For now, we only have takeaways based on practice reps. From this viewpoint, Strange is the clubhouse leader, but the competition is far from over, and we wouldn't rule out Wallace or Wilson winning the job. Wallace was viewed by many as a possible college tackle-to-guard convert in last year's draft, while Wilson has played some guard in the past and might be the most talented of the group in a "best five" scenario with Bradbury at center.

On paper, the most straightforward starting five for the Patriots along the offensive is LT Will Campbell, LG Cole Strange, C Garrett Bradbury, RG Mike Onwenu, and RT Mike Onwenu. However, Strange is only penciled in. One element to consider at left guard is that Campbell (77 " wingspan) and Bradbury (76.5" wingspan) are both narrower body types at their respective positions. Thus, having a larger left guard who takes up more space, such as Sow, Wallace, or Wilson, could make sense.

Ultimately, the cream will rise to the top in the Patriots left guard competition, meaning it'll be settled in camp. From there, filling out the depth comes down to a mix of developing talent and having ready-made backups for game day. Although he is a one-position backup, last year's starter, Vederian Lowe, is the only other experienced left tackle on the roster behind Campbell. The Pats drafted rookie Marcus Bryant in the seventh round, who was Missouri's left tackle opposite first-rounder Armand Membou last season, so that's one of those development vs. experienced backup coin flips the Patriots could decide on this summer.

Another sneaky storyline to monitor is second-year G Layden Robinson's future. In the spring, Robinson wasn't as involved with the top group as one might expect after showing some positive flashes in 11 starts as a rookie. The fourth-rounder has good power, but it's unclear how the new coaching staff views him. Although he got more meaningful spring reps than Robinson, the same could be said about Sow, who fell out of favor with last year's coaching staff but performed adequately as a run blocker at right guard for Bill O'Brien during his first season in 2023.

Lastly, as mentioned, second-year pro Tyrese Robinson is an under-the-radar player to watch in the guard competition, as is undrafted rookie Jack Conley. Conley, who is a monster at 6-7, 333 pounds, comes from the Chestnut Hill Patriots (aka Boston College), where he played for O'Brien and Marrone. Those familiar with Conley's game point to his versatility as a calling card to make an NFL roster. The rookie could be a four- or five-position backup, which is critical for making the roster as a reserve offensive lineman, as Conley could provide game-day flexibility.

Overall, most teams keep somewhere between eight to 10 offensive linemen on their 53-man rosters. Given the state of New England's offensive line in recent years, one would expect them to be on the higher end of that spectrum to maintain team control on recent draft picks that have developmental upside while also rostering serviceable backups. The reality is the Patriots, like any team, will use multiple offensive line combinations throughout the season, making the offensive line a very fluid position group this summer.

New England had to raise the talent level in the offensive line room this offseason. Now, it's time to see their plan go from on paper to the practice and eventually game field.

DISCLAIMER:The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization.Read Full Disclaimer