4 risks the Patriots are taking with their final 53-man roster

Hoping that quantity over quality will work for the offensive line

The struggles of the offensive have been well documented over the last few years, and there was hope that Belichick would dive head first into addressing the unit in free agency and the draft. Of course, that hope was short-lived, as all of the top free agents signed elsewhere, and the Patriots didn't select a lineman in the draft until the fourth round.

Even though significant help wasn't brought in as far as players go, Belichick did make sure to swap out the coaching staff, which appeared to significantly impact the success of the line throughout the 2022 season.

The signing of Adrian Klemm was a breath of fresh air after watching the group struggle under the coaching of Matt Patricia last year. But even with Klemm's presence throughout the offseason, Patriots' quarterbacks have been running for their lives in practice and preseason games.

Several veterans have also been battling injuries, keeping them sidelined for much of the summer. And because of that, Belichick went on a mad dash as the roster cutdown deadline approached by trading for two offensive linemen at the very last minute.

The additions of Vederian Lowe and Tyrone Wheatley Jr. will definitely be helpful to fill out the depth chart, at the very least. However, New England's decision to wait until mere hours before the cutdown deadline to really address the most struggling unit all summer was a bit concerning.

It became even more evident that Belichick is hoping for quantity on the offensive line over quality. That doesn't mean the rostered players are not talented or won't perform well; there are certainly some great linemen on the team and a lot of hope for them collectively.

But because the head coach didn't address the problem sooner, it indicates the intention is to go into the season with more depth than in years past and hope that will at least mask most of the issues instead of solving them.