The New England Patriots were trounced by the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Two glaring weaknesses stared the Patriots' head coach, Mike Vrabel, and the personnel operation right in the face. They could neither prevent nor produce sacks.
They were outsacked in the Super Bowl 6-1, and that was that. Patriots' Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf thinks the O-line will be OK with the few changes made. That's a questionable opinion.
The Patriots' top priority every offseason should be to assemble a first-rate offensive line to protect Drake Maye. The team should have no higher priority in its sights. If they needed any convincing, the Super Bowl fiasco should have left no doubt in their minds that they needed to heavily fortify their porous O-line in the 2026 offseason.
They did add a very talented guard - when he plays. It's former Jet, Alijah Vera-Tucker. He's a former first-round draft pick with loads of talent. Unfortunately, he's been injury-prone in his five-year career, culminating with his missing the entire 2025 season with a triceps tear, his second.
Risking your franchise quarterback on a player who doesn't play is risky personnel management. There were better options available, and the Patriots punted.
The Patriots are making changes to their offensive line for the 2026 season
The Patriots' major O-line splash was the signing of guard Vera-Tucker. They also added a backup-level offensive tackle, James Hudson III, in free agency. It was an underwhelming addressing of the team's most pressing need. Vera-Tucker is an injury risk, pure and simple.
Relying on him is rolling the dice and hoping to roll a seven. Hudson is just a replacement for Vederian Lowe, and nothing more.
Eliot Wolf spoke about the Patriots' offensive line in an appearance on "Up & Adams."
Patriots Exec. VP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf confirms Jared Wilson will be moving to center with newly-signed Alijah Vera-Tucker slotting in at left guard@heykayadams pic.twitter.com/v1msB9GUCy
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) March 30, 2026
Wolf noted that second-year player Will Campbell should be healthy and stronger in 2026. He hopefully will, though his knee injury was serious enough to derail his 2025 season, and he had no surgery to repair any damage.
He also said that 2025's left guard, Jared Wilson, is moving to his "more natural" position, center. Unfortunately, Wilson hasn't played any center in the NFL.
The Patriots' right guard, Mike Onwenu, is a solid veteran. At right tackle now is 35-year-old Morgan Moses. He's also a pretty good player, but he's nearing the end of his NFL career. There's not much behind him if he runs out of gas this season.
The result of all this is that the Patriots have probably not improved their offensive line much at all yet this offseason, yet. Last year, they allowed 47 regular-season sacks and another whopping 21 in the playoffs, including the six in the Super Bowl, which wrecked their Lombardi Trophy hopes.
Eliot Wolf's optimism notwithstanding, the Patriots need to improve their offensive line further. They still have the draft to really bolster that weak unit. Whether they do so may determine whether they were a flash-in-the-pan in 2025 or can sustain that excellence against a much tougher schedule.
Anything but a major commitment to the O-line in the draft, and the Patriots may well become a 2026 NFL afterthought.