Patriots: Sounds like offensive line depth could be an issue for NE
By Mike Luciano
The New England Patriots spent most of the offseason making sure that Cam Newton had plenty of support around him at wide receiver and tight end, but that didn’t stop Bill Belichick from making additions to an already strong offensive line, as he brought back David Andrews while swapping out Marcus Cannon for Trent Brown.
The starting line combination figures to be Brown at right tackle, Shaq Mason beside him at right guard, Andrews at center, standout sophomore Michael Onwenu at left guard, and Isaiah Wynn taking up the left tackle spot.
Compared to some of the units in the AFC, this is an exemplary crew.
However, as is so often the case, OTAs are starting to expose some of the flaws and foibles of this roster.
According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the lack of depth on the offensive line could be one issue worth watching if injuries start popping up.
Per Reiss, both starting tackles in Brown and Wynn sat out Friday’s practice, in addition to backup tackle Justin Herron. The defense won the day in convincing fashion, perhaps indicating that New England is in for a world of hurt if those two bookends are unable to go.
Lots of newcomers at #Patriots OTAs on Monday as things ramp up for next week’s mandatory minicamp. Devin McCourty, Matt Judon, and Trent Brown among them. https://t.co/nZ5uJZDKaN
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) June 8, 2021
The Patriots might be suffering from a lack of quality depth.
Herron is the backup left tackle, but the rest of New England’s depth chart has some question marks. Rookie William Sherman, undrafted free agent Marcus Martin, and the consistently inconsistent Korey Cunningham don’t look like quality starters. Ted Karras is a solid backup, but he’s the uninspiring best of the lot.
With Brown having only played in a handful of games last year with the Raiders and Wynn missing more games than he’s played in since being drafted, both of New England’s tackles are potential injury risks that must be watched carefully.
Keeping Cam Newton upright in the pocket and creating running lanes for the big quarterback to barrel his way through are integral to New England becoming a success story next season. One injury could derail their grand vision, as none of these fancy new receivers will mean squat if they can’t protect Cam.
There are worse offensive lines than New England’s when you examine the entire picture, and the Patriots do have a fearsome pass rush, but this showed that one bad ankle twist could set the Pats up for failure in a division that has invested heavily in some tremendous pass rushers over the offseason.
