Jerod Mayo is dead wrong about solution for Patriots offensive woes

The Patriots' offensive line was expected to be an issue as soon as the 2024 season began, and through three games, it has lived up to the concerns. The group looked their worst against the Jets last Thursday, inevitably making any success for the offense nearly impossible.

From the lack of protection on Jacoby Brissett, which allowed five sacks and a season-high pressure rate and made it difficult to utilize the run game, to suffering countless injuries that forced fourth-stringers into the starting lineup, the offensive line couldn't have looked worse in the team's only primetime game of the year.

It brought on demands for significant changes made to the lineup, looking into free agents or possible trades for the players that could instantly make them better.

While that makes sense and would be the best path to take, starting offensive linemen are rarely readily available once the season begins, never mind up for trade. It's an unfortunate truth New England will have to deal with, which seems to be what they're ready for, even if their assessment of the roster is wrong.

Jerod Mayo is wrong about the offensive line, but the Patriots can't do anything about it

After their brutal loss to the Jets last Thursday night, reporters questioned Jerod Mayo about the state of the offensive line. Despite their attempt to improve the group during the offseason, which saw two players drafted, it doesn't appear to have been enough.

The Patriots head coach disagreed, however, as he shared his belief that they can improve the problems with the players they have.

"No, I believe we can correct the problems internally. It comes down to details, and we were not sharp on our details as a unit. That's what the offensive line is. It's not just one person. It's a unit. Being able to see the picture out of the same set of goggles, we just didn't do that last night. I do think it's correctable internally."

It would be unfair to suggest the linemen on the roster are not talented or can't develop into the type of players the team needs, especially when we're talking about a group that contains David Andrews and Mike Onwenu. However, being down Sidy Sow, losing their initial left tackle, dealing with multiple injuries to his replacements, and using two rookies isn't an ideal situation.

Besides the trusted veterans in Andrews and Onwenu, the rest of the group is questionable at best with no improvement in sight. It's the expected reality that most believed would be the case before the season even began, and there isn't a whole lot Mayo can do at this point.

The free agent offensive linemen still available are still unsigned for a reason. The top left tackles still looking for a team are David Bakhtiari, who has played in just 25 games since the 2020 season, and Donovan Smith, whose last two seasons have been the worst performances of his career.

If the Patriots wanted to spend some of their remaining cap space on either veteran, either player could be better than what they're dealing with on the roster.

Unfortunately, neither option would be cheap, which might make the risk not worth it. Not to mention, it doesn't appear to be a scenario that Mayo seems interested in, based on his insistence that they have the right players on the team right now. Regardless, something needs to change because this will not be a sufficient offense without it.

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