Patriots Eyeing OT Depth?
With the Patriots now out of the Brandon Aiyuk sweepstakes, the team will pivot to improving other offensive positions. According to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe, the Patriots are expected to “turn their full attention” to acquiring offensive tackle depth. The organization could consider a number of different routes as they seek reinforcement, including a trade, a veteran free agent, or an inexperienced tryout player.
[RELATED: Latest On Patriots G Cole Strange’s Knee Injury]
With Trent Brown now out of the picture, the Patriots lack experience at both offensive tackle spots. At the moment, there are four clear candidates for the two starting gigs (per Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald): Chukwuma Okorafor, Vederian Lowe, Calvin Anderson, and rookie third-round pick Caedan Wallace. One team source told Kyed that Okorafor and Lowe are likely in the lead at the moment, although Anderson was recently playing with the starters while Okorafor nursed an undisclosed injury.
As Kyed notes, Jerod Mayo is hoping to have his Week 1 starters locked in before the team’s third preseason game. So, if the Patriots plan to bring in another option at the position, the acquisition will only have a couple of weeks to make a good impression.
The current free agent market includes the likes of Donovan Smith, David Bakhtiari, D.J. Humphries, and Jason Peters. If the rebuilding Patriots intended to bring in one of these veterans, they probably would have already done so. More likely, the Patriots will continue to explore the trade market for some depth, and they could also hold out for players who shake loose at the end of the preseason (although that won’t help their starting lineup uncertainty).
Whatever combination of players the Patriots settle on for their offensive line, it’s unlikely to stick throughout the entire regular season. Former first-round guard Cole Strange will eventually return from a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. Whenever Strange comes back, the Patriots could consider moving Michael Onwenu back to offensive tackle, although the recent extension recipient has exclusively played guard throughout training camp.
Chukwuma Okorafor Likely To Start For Pats; Latest On Team’s Tackle Competitions
As the Patriots continue to hand big-money deals to Bill Belichick-era acquisitions, they remain thin at tackle. Plans to keep Michael Onwenu at right tackle have been scrapped — for the time being, at least — and a host of uncertain options are vying for gigs in New England.
Neither Pats tackle post is settled yet, and the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed writes four primary candidates are in the mix. The only one who appears destined to start, Chukwuma Okorafor, is not currently practicing. Okorafor has missed the past three Pats practices, but Kyed adds the longtime Steelers right tackle starter is likely to start at either left or right tackle to open the season.
After Trent Brown‘s second New England exit opened a starting job, this is quite the fluid process. The Pats, who had designs on flipping Okorafor — the Steelers’ RT starter from 2020 until his midseason benching last year — to the left side, but Kyed adds he has been since relocated back to right tackle. This would make sense, as the 27-year-old blocker has played all of two LT snaps during the 2020s.
Third-round pick Caedan Wallace practiced primarily at left tackle last week, with the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin indicating he began camp on the right side. Vederian Lowe, a 2023 trade pickup, has also operated as the Pats’ starting LT extensively. He spent five straight practices in that role recently, per Kyed, who adds a Patriots evaluator mentioned the former Vikings draftee and Okorafor being the two most consistent options at camp thus far. Continuing the confusion here, Lowe split his snaps almost evenly (236-239) at LT and RT last season.
Former Broncos swingman Calvin Anderson, who is coming off a strange 2023 that featured a malaria diagnosis, is also involved in the competition. Anderson has primarily worked at right tackle during camp, also missing time due to injury last week. A 12-game starter in Denver from 2020-22, Anderson made it back last season to play in five games and start two. All of Anderson’s 2023 snaps came at right tackle.
When the Pats re-signed Onwenu on a three-year, $57MM deal, the plan appeared to be the fifth-year blocker — who has played extensively at guard and tackle — remaining the team’s right tackle starter. Those plans changed rather quickly, and Volin adds the high-priced blocker is now locked in at right guard. Both Volin and Kyed note an Onwenu-at-tackle scenario may well be one the Patriots revisit, with the Herald reporter indicating Cole Strange‘s eventual return — from a torn left patellar tendon — could kick Onwenu back to RT and slide current left guard Sidy Sow to RG.
Strange, who has yet to live up to his first-round draft status, returning would help stabilize New England’s O-line. For now, this is quite the unsettled situation. None of the team’s options appear especially appealing, either, creating some questions about Drake Maye‘s development.
The No. 3 overall pick, whom the Pats chose rather than accept big offers from the Giants or Vikings, is currently behind Jacoby Brissett for the QB1 gig. But the Pats are giving Maye first-team work. While Brissett may well begin the season as the team’s starter, Maye will almost definitely make 2024 starts. This muddled tackle situation could threaten to hinder the North Carolina product’s progress.
Latest On Patriots’ LT Plans
Just after the draft, we took a quick first look at the Patriots’ position battle at left tackle. A month ago, we did a big of a deeper dive on the candidates likely to vie for the position. With Trent Brown now in Cincinnati, New England lacks a player with NFL experience on the blindside, and according to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe, the team may have already given up on one of their replacement options.
In our first look, we tabbed free agent addition Chukwuma Okorafor, third-year lineman Vederian Lowe, and rookie third-round pick Caedan Wallace as the likeliest options to take over the starting gig. The problem with this picture arises from the fact that both Okorafor and Wallace have exclusively played at right tackle in the past five years, while Lowe has only eight starts at the NFL level (four of them at left tackle).
It seemed early as if drafting Wallace out of Penn State was intended to address that left tackle job. Head coach Jerod Mayo claimed to be working Wallace and Okorafor at multiple positions while making it clear that there was no intention to move starting right tackle Michael Onwenu to the blindside. Since that time, though, Volin seems to be under the impression that the team has “already scrapped their plans to move (Wallace) to the left side” of the line, utilizing him mostly at right tackle during minicamp.
That leads us back to Okorafor who played only right tackle during a six-year tenure with the Steelers. Becoming a full-time starter after two seasons in Pittsburgh, Okorafor was benched last year after “acting out” before Broderick Jones seemed to take over the position for good. Okorafor did play his final two seasons at Western Michigan at left tackle before getting drafted in the third round, but he’s now six years removed from that experience against much lesser talent in the MAC Conference.
Lowe is another possibility after making eight starts for the team last year as an injury replacement. He split those starts between left and right tackle, but like Okorafor, he does have extensive left tackle experience from his college days with the Illini. As a trade acquisition last year, Lowe came up clutch for the Patriots when Brown was down, but asking him to take over the starting job for a full season is a lot more to ask of the third-year player.
The only other two options appear to be Calvin Anderson, a former undrafted free agent who has 14 starts under his belt in five years of NFL play, and Tyrone Wheatley, an undrafted player back in 2020 whose NFL experience consists of five special teams snaps last year. Anderson’s case is also hurt by an extensive injury history.
With Wallace now seemingly out of the running for the left tackle job, it’s seeming more and more likely that a veteran free agent addition might be necessary to, at the very least, bolster some depth at the position. Okorafor or Lowe may end up being the answer to start, but veteran contributions from players like David Bakhtiari, D.J. Humphries, Donovan Smith, or Charles Leno surely wouldn’t hurt.
Vikings Waiting For 2022 Draft Class To Step Up
2022 was the first draft in Minnesota for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. While there have been some success stories like fourth-round cornerback Akayleb Evans becoming a starter in Year 2 and fifth-round running back Ty Chandler serving as a decent RB2 in his sophomore campaign, the class has overall been a bit of a disappointment. 
We already commented on Kevin Seifert of ESPN’s stance that former first-round safety Lewis Cine could be on the roster bubble, but Seifert didn’t stop there, claiming that the other three picks in the first three rounds could run into similar difficulties this offseason.
This statement expands to the later picks of the draft class, as well, though it obviously doesn’t pertain to Evans and Chandler. Worth mentioning, though, is former sixth-round offensive tackle Vederian Lowe, who was traded to the Patriots for a seventh-round pick and went on to start eight games in New England last year, and fifth-round pass rusher Esezi Otomewo, who was waived after a year with the team.
Of the remaining players in the class, LSU second-round offensive guard Ed Ingram has been the most impactful player. Ingram became an instant, full-time starter as a rookie and has only missed two games in his time with the team. That being said, head coach Kevin O’Connell seemed to indicate recently that both starting guard spots are being fought for in a three-way competition between Ingram, backup tackle Blake Brandel, and Dalton Risner.
The battle could be a result of underwhelming performance from the second-rounder. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Ingram graded out as the 57th-best guard in the league out of 77 graded players his rookie year. Though he improved to the 38th-ranked guard in 2023, his overall score that determines those rankings only rose from 57.0 to 59.5. For reference, the top players at the position graded out in the 80s. Ingram could certainly win one of the two available starting jobs over Brandel and Risner, but the fact that, going into his third year, Ingram’s in danger of losing his job as the incumbent starter points to relative disappointment.
Taken 17 picks before Ingram, former Clemson cornerback Andrew Booth has also failed to play up to his second-round draft stock. Booth was already playing behind the starters, Evans and Byron Murphy, last year, but he is in danger of continuing to tumble down the depth chart as free agent addition Shaquill Griffin comes in with far more starting experience and fourth-round rookie Khyree Jackson could have more goodwill to win a roster spot in his first year with the team.
Third-round linebacker Brian Asamoah has likewise failed to crack the rotation in his first two years out of Oklahoma. He’s not likely to earn any starting time in 2024 as he’s been consistently working behind Ivan Pace and Blake Cashman so far this offseason. The free agent addition of veteran Kamu Grugier-Hill will likely take away any snaps as the primary backup at the position, as well.
Seventh-round pick Nick Muse was maybe not expected to do much as a late-round tight end, but he’s only been on the field for two offensive snaps in his career and missed all but two games last year. He may not see much room for improvement in 2024 as he’s been buried on a depth chart that now includes T.J. Hockenson, Josh Oliver, Robert Tonyan, and Johnny Mundt.
Lastly, sixth-round receiver Jalen Nailor was also mentioned by Seifert but on a slightly more positive note. Seifert claims that the coaching staff really wants to see Nailor make an impact and possibly earn the WR3 role this offseason. That role was vacated as K.J. Osborn departed for New England in free agency, and the Vikings didn’t really do much to replace Osborn after he left. With Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison leading the receiving corps, Nailor has an opportunity to step up into a crucial role.
Nailor’s early career has been hampered by injury. He missed seven games early in the season last year before sitting out the final four contests, as well. But coaches have pegged him as a “slippery target that defenders have trouble tracking” during his limited time in games and practice. While the coaches are hoping that he’ll force their hand, he’ll be competing with Brandon Powell, who was the fourth receiver on the team after coming over from the Rams last year, and Trent Sherfield, who has been an inconsistent contributor over his six years in the league.
So, Adofo-Mensah’s first draft did not produce the desired results in 2022, and while he did a little better by nailing Addison in the first round last year, the rest of the 2023 class has yet to make their impact. He’ll hope to continue hitting on first-rounders with quarterback J.J. McCarthy and pass rusher Dallas Turner this year, and he’ll hope that late-round picks like Jackson and kicker Will Reichard show their impacts, as well. Entering a bit of a rebuild post–Kirk Cousins, the team’s success will depend partially on how well Adofo-Mensah can build the team moving forward.
AFC East Rumors: Patriots OL, Saleh, Milano
With veteran left tackle Trent Brown departing in free agency, the Patriots are looking to fill his old role this offseason. As organized team activities have opened, free agent addition Chukwuma Okorafor has been taking first-team snaps at the position, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.
Okorafor, a former third-round pick for the Steelers, has spent the first six years of his NFL career in Pittsburgh. His first two seasons only saw the Nigerian find starting time as an injury replacement. After Okorafor finished out his rookie contract with two straight seasons as a starter, the Steelers rewarded him with a three-year, $29.25MM extension. After losing his starting job to first-round rookie Broderick Jones last year, though, the Steelers released Okorafor to free agency.
Now in New England, Okorafor will have the opportunity to re-earn a starting job and fill in for the departed Brown. Okorafor’s competition for the job will be Vederian Lowe, who started eight games in injury relief for the Patriots last year, and third-round rookie Caedan Wallace out of Penn State.
In additional offensive line news out of New England OTAs, second-year lineman Atonio Mafi was seen taking snaps at center behind starter David Andrews. Mafi, a former fifth-round pick who converted from defensive line to guard at UCLA, had yet to seen time at center while making five starts at left guard as a rookie. New offensive line coach Scott Peters and assistant offensive line coach Robert Kugler seem to have some interest in expanding his role on the line.
Here are some other rumors coming out of the AFC East:
- We had reported previously that Jets head coach Robert Saleh had explored the idea of reducing the role of offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. This exploration came after the seeing Hackett seemingly lost for options after the loss of starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers early in the season. A more recent report from ESPN’s Rich Cimini claims that Saleh is now taking a deeper role in the offense himself. The former defensive coordinator seems to be keeping a close eye over the shoulder of Hackett as their jobs both heat up in 2024.
- Long-time Bills starting linebacker Matt Milano missed 12 games after suffering a season-ending knee injury last year. The team is looking to pair Milano back up with last year’s emergent starter Terrel Bernard, but that won’t be happening in OTAs. According to Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN, Milano is on schedule with his recovery, but “it’s probably going to be more closer to training camp until” he sees the field again.
AFC East Notes: Dolphins, Jets, Thornton
The 2019 draft produced several long-running partnerships between defensive tackles and the teams that chose them in the first round. Four of the six DTs selected in Round 1 that year signed extensions this offseason. Quinnen Williams, Ed Oliver, Dexter Lawrence and Jeffery Simmons have new deals in hand. Jerry Tillery did not work out for the Chargers, but he was the only first-round DT from the ’19 class not to negotiate an extension this offseason. Christian Wilkins spent months discussing a deal with the Dolphins, but the sides have tabled matters to 2024, when the former No. 13 overall pick will be on the cusp of free agency.
Guarantees represented a sticking point for Wilkins, but Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald offers that the Dolphins appeared to be skittish about authorizing a Williams-level deal for a player without much in the way of sack production. Wilkins’ camp undoubtedly pushed for terms in the Williams-Lawrence-Simmons-Daron Payne neighborhood ($22.5-$24MM per year), as the Clemson alum led all DTs with 98 tackles last season. Wilkins, who produced 89 tackles in 2021, has never topped 4.5 sacks in a season. He has also eclipsed seven QB hits in just one of his four NFL slates (13 in 2021). Wilkins has not requested a trade, per Jackson, and the Dolphins — despite trade interest emerging — are not interested in moving him.
The Dolphins will have the option of franchise-tagging Wilkins next year. The Commanders used the tag as a bridge to a Payne deal, but the D-tackle tag number will likely come in north of $20MM in 2024. The Dolphins are currently projected to be $27MM over the cap next year (29th in the league), though much will obviously change between now and then. Here is the latest from the AFC East:
- It would make sense if right guard Robert Hunt was in the Dolphins’ extension plans, but the contract-year blocker said (via Jackson) he is not aware of any talks transpiring. Hunt joins a few notable guards on track to become 2024 free agents. Jonah Jackson (Lions), Damien Lewis (Seahawks) and Michael Onwenu (Patriots) are also multiyear starters in the final year of their rookie deals. Only Jackson has been known to have held extension talks with his respective team.
- Carl Lawson is expected to make his 2023 debut in Week 2, Robert Saleh said (via the New York Post’s Brian Costello). The veteran defensive end missed most of training camp due to back tightness, and the Jets held him out of their Week 1 Bills matchup. Lawson, who took a pay cut this offseason, totaled seven sacks and 24 QB hits (both totals second among Jets) last season.
- The Jets also worked out a few offensive linemen this week. Cameron Erving, Dennis Kelly, D.J. Fluker and Rashaad Coward auditioned for the team, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. None have joined the squad. The Jets have Billy Turner and Max Mitchell slotted as their backup tackles. Rookie fourth-rounder Carter Warren is on short-term IR. Starters Duane Brown and Mekhi Becton, who each spent their offseason rehabbing injuries, logged limited practices Wednesday.
- Tyquan Thornton is starting a second straight season on IR, but the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed notes the Patriots do not expect the 2022 second-rounder to miss much time. A shoulder injury sent Thornton to IR. That said, Thornton was not pushing to be a starter during his second training camp. The Baylor product, who suffered a broken collarbone during his first NFL camp, was likely “significantly” behind JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kendrick Bourne and DeVante Parker before his latest injury, Kyed adds.
- Mike McDaniel said (via Jackson) special teams duty led to third-round rookie Devon Achane being a healthy scratch in Week 1. Raheem Mostert, Salvon Ahmed and rookie UDFA Chris Brooks, who holds a bigger ST role than Achane, were Miami’s active backs in their Week 1 win.
- The draft choice the Patriots sent to the Vikings for O-lineman Vederian Lowe is the Raiders’ 2024 sixth-rounder, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets. New England acquired that pick in exchange for O-lineman Justin Herron last summer.
Patriots Trade For Vikings OL Vederian Lowe
The Vikings have successfully found a trade partner to take second-year offensive tackle Vederian Lowe after a few days of searching, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. The team will send him to New England in exchange for a sixth-round pick.
Minnesota selected Lowe in the sixth round of last year’s draft after Lowe ended his college career with consecutive seasons of All-Big Ten honorable mention. Lowe, the 31st best tackle in college football his senior year, according to Pro Football Focus, was brought in presumably to add depth behind starting offensive tackles Brian O’Neill and Christian Darrisaw. With Lowe now out, Oli Udoh and Blake Brandel are the team’s top backups at tackle.
It’s not completely clear whether Lowe failed to meet Minnesota’s expectations as a backup or if he was too valuable to keep stashed without playing opportunities or if maybe Lowe himself was the one who wanted out. Regardless, the Vikings will likely be satisfied with the return of some draft capital in this exchange.
Lowe will now have a new opportunity with the Patriots to compete for playing time. The recent preseason injury to presumptive starting right tackle Riley Reiff and Calvin Anderson‘s status on the non-football injury list made tackle depth a necessity. Whether or not Lowe gets serious run at the right tackle job in the absence of Reiff and Anderson, his presence should have the Patriots feeling a bit better about their depth. Lowe joins Conor McDermott, newly acquired Tyrone Wheatley, and Andrew Stueber as the team’s healthy tackle options across from Trent Brown.
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/12/22
Thursday has featured several rookie deals finalized. Here are the mid- and late-round draftees to sign their four-year contracts today:
Arizona Cardinals
- RB Keaontay Ingram (sixth round, USC)
- OL Lecitus Smith (sixth round, Virginia Tech)
- LB Jesse Luketa (seventh round, Penn State)
Atlanta Falcons
- RB Tyler Allgeier (fifth round, BYU)
- G Justin Shaffer (sixth round, Georgia)
- TE John FitzPatrick (sixth round, Georgia)
Buffalo Bills
- LB Terrel Bernard (third round, Baylor)
Cleveland Browns
- CB Martin Emerson (third round, Mississippi State)
- DE Alex Wright (third round, UAB)
- WR David Bell (third round, Purdue)
- RB Jerome Ford (fifth round, Cincinnati)
- WR Mike Woods (sixth round, Oklahoma)
- DE Isaiah Thomas (seventh round, Oklahoma)
- C Dawson Deaton (seventh round, Texas Tech)
Dallas Cowboys
- DT John Ridgeway (fifth round, Arkansas)
Denver Broncos
- WR Montrell Washington (fifth round, Samford)
Detroit Lions
- TE James Mitchell (fifth round, Virginia Tech)
Houston Texans
- RB Dameon Pierce (fourth round, Florida)
- DT Thomas Booker (fifth round, Stanford)
Jacksonville Jaguars
- RB Snoop Conner (fifth round, Ole Miss)
- CB Gregory Junior (sixth round, Ouachita Baptist)
- CB Montaric Brown (seventh round, Arkansas)
Las Vegas Raiders
- G Dylan Parham (third round, Memphis)
- DT Matthew Butler (fifth round, Tennessee)
- T Thayer Munford (seventh round, Ohio State)
- RB Brittain Brown (seventh round, UCLA)
Miami Dolphins
- DE Cameron Goode (seventh round, California)
Minnesota Vikings
- DE Esezi Otomewo (fifth round, Minnesota)
- RB Ty Chandler (sixth round, North Carolina)
- T Vederian Lowe (sixth round, Illinois)
- WR Jalen Nailor (sixth round, Michigan State)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- RB Rachaad White (third round, Arizona State)
- CB Zyon McCollum (fifth round, Sam Houston State)
- TE Ko Kieft (sixth round, Minnesota)
- OLB Andre Anthony (seventh round, LSU)
Tennessee Titans
- RB Hassan Haskins (fourth round, Michigan)
- WR Kyle Philips (fifth round, UCLA)
- CB Theo Jackson (sixth round, Tennessee)
- LB Chance Campbell (sixth round, Ole Miss)