The New England Patriots made heavy investments in their offensive line this past offseason. Four of the five starters are new to the team, and the entire depth chart has been reorganized. No. 4 overall pick Will Campbell now starts at left tackle, and rookie Jared Wilson is the starter at left guard.
Garrett Bradbury, the 18th pick in 2019, was brought in to be the new center, and veteran tackle Morgan Moses was inked to a three-year deal to play on the right side. Mike Onwenu is the only player who remains from last year's five.
Vrabel and company weren't afraid to shake things up deeper in the depth chart, too. Former first-round pick Cole Strange was released after a poor preseason, and Ben Brown, who played his first career game in Week 6 last year, was named the top interior man. 2024 third-rounder Caeden Wallace was bumped inside, too, after a dismal rookie season.
Last year's starting left tackle, Vederian Lowe, is a backup tackle alongside 2025 seventh-round pick Marcus Bryant, who showed some real promise in the preseason.
With all this being said, one would think the Patriots' offensive line should be vastly improved. While it's looked better than last season at times, specifically in Week 2, the numbers don't lie. Through three weeks, the Patriots have allowed the second-most sacks in the league (tied with three other teams), and are 19th in rush yards per game. That horrific 2024 Alex Van Pelt offense everyone hated? They were 14th.
PFF grades Patriots' run blocking poorly, which explains some of their biggest offensive issues so far
At 100.3 yards per game on the ground, the Patriots are far from elite. Nonetheless, the ball does move downfield, given Drake Maye is fifth in the league in passing yards. As a matter of fact, moving the ball the last two weeks hasn't been the issue. Against the Dolphins in Week 2, it wasn't an issue at all, and turnovers were the central issue against the Steelers.
Nonetheless, PFF feels the offensive line's play as run blockers has been a major issue. Morgan Moses comes in with the highest run blocking grade, a solid 71.9. Ironically, while he's the only player with a sound run blocking grade, his 53.8 pass blocking grade notches him 65th in the league.
Will Campbell is disappointing, considering his draft status: 60.1. The interior is nothing short of abysmal. Jared Wilson's 50.2 grade is the third best, while Mike Onwenu's 48.6 pass blocking grade ranks him 80th among guards: a stark contrast from his 78.5 pass blocking grade. Garrett Bradbury is PFF's second-worst run-blocking center at 45.7.
The offensive line isn't elite, but on paper it's certainly serviceable -- at least that's what we thought before the year began. The players aren't bad run blockers either: during Onwenu's first two seasons under Josh McDaniels, he ranked in the top eight in the category, third among guards in 2021. For Bradbury, the script flipped: his 48.2 pass blocking grade was the issue with the Vikings last year, while his 2024 70.7 run blocking grade was 25 points higher than his 2025 metric to this point.
Could the pass-heavy scheme be lending itself to poor run blocking technique? Maye is fifth in passing yards and joint ninth in pass attempts, beating out Pat Mahomes and Josh Allen in both categories. While the passing offense looks solid now, cleaning things up across the offensive line is a must if the team wants to have success later in the season.