The Patriots' new head coach and de facto personnel manager, Mike Vrabel, had a herculean personnel challenge. He inherited arguably the worst roster in the NFL, and two of his offensive units were near the bottom of the league, as well.
The wide receiving corps was one of the NFL's weakest, with Demario Douglas leading them in catches with a paltry 66. That won't win you many games or get you anywhere but to the bottom of the AFC East for the second year in a row. Vrabel's receiver room now features only two receivers from 2024 on the active roster, and as a result, they are expected to be a far better unit in 2025.
Arguably even worse was the 2024 offensive line, almost certainly the NFL's worst. All things run through the offensive line, and so did every opposing defense. It allowed 52 sacks of the Patriots' quarterbacks, including that of rookie Drake Maye, who had to (and still will in 2025) use his running skills to stay on the field. Vrabel needed to upgrade that line, and he did.
The Patriots' O-line is now solid but lacks depth
Vrabel has only one 2024 starter, guard Mike Onwenu (who's out of shape for the second straight year), who'll start this season. As for new players, he signed two veteran stop-gap type free agents, right tackle Morgan Moses and center Garrett Bradbury, both of whom will start.
The other two starters will be terrific rookie first-round pick, left tackle Will Campbell, and third-round pick, center/guard, Jared Wilson, who'll also probably start at left guard. Both are massive upgrades over the 2024 players they replaced. Yet, the offensive line still has issues, and a former player is concerned.
Former Patriots great, Rob Gronkowski, in an interview with NBC Sports Boston's Kayla Burton, commented on the 2025 offensive line, and his concerns are justified.
"'I like what they're doing -- big time. I feel like they filled all of the gaps that they needed to fill in the offseason. I think the offensive line is going to be a little bit questionable still, but I think they're gonna figure it out.'"
Vrabel has improved the offensive line significantly, but no one is likely to tout it as one of the NFL's best. It will take time to completely rebuild this unit, and Vrabel's efforts have only just begun the process. Regardless, the starting unit is a mile ahead of 2025, and that's a start.
The 2025 starting offensive line is solid, the backups for the most part aren't
The starting offensive line outlined is vastly improved over 2024, especially if Morgan Moses is healthy. If he can't go, another rookie is probably the best option. That's former Missouri left tackle Marcus Bryant, who can play both tackle spots. He was a seventh-round pick and has been a nice surprise.
Remnants of 2024's offensive line remain, however. Tackle Vederian Lowe is back. He's a waiver-wire level player, as is center-guard Ben Brown, who did a decent job in 2024. Last year's third-round pick, Caedan Wallace, is also still around, though he was a major 2024 disappointment. All three are bottom-of-the-roster players and are eminently replaceable.
Gronkowski is right that the offensive line is a concern. Even the improved starting unit, comprised of Onwenu, two new veterans, one of whom is an injury risk, and two rookies, is not a great situation. Having another rookie as your top swing tackle and three poor backups after that is also not optimal.
Vrabel invested heavily in revamping the 2024 offensive line. If they can stay healthy, the improvement will be significant. Yet, having Lowe, Brown, and Wallace as backups is an issue. None of them may even be around by the end of the season. Regardless, if Vrabel's starters can stay on the field, the Patriots can compete in 2025. If not, he'll have trouble until he adds far better depth players to the unit in 2026.