By Matt Dolloff, 985TheSportsHub.com
The Patriots still view Isaiah Wynn as a left tackle. That much is clear, as evidenced by his uptick in reps on Friday.
It’s hard to gauge how much closer Wynn has gotten to becoming the starting left tackle, but the second-year pro out of Georgia saw a little more first-team reps with the starters on Tom Brady’s blind side during Friday’s practice, the last before the start of the preseason. Dan Skipper is still getting first dibs at those reps, but it looks like Wynn is inching closer to him.
In classic Patriots fashion, Wynn expertly deflected questions about the team’s plans for him. Can we expect more first-team reps for him as soon as next week’s joint practices?
“That’s coach Bill’s question.”
Is he confident that it’ll happen soon?
“Of course.”
Offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn (76) heads to the practice field outside Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. for minicamp on June 5, 2019. (Matt Dolloff/WBZ-FM)
Wynn has been able to get plenty of off-field work since an Achilles injury that robbed him of his rookie season. You don’t need a healthy foot to dive into the film room.
But physically, Wynn may simply need more time to develop into a left tackle. Because he doesn’t look like the Pats’ last two players at the position, the 6-foot-8 Nate Solder and the 6-foot-9 Trent Brown.
It feels like we may have just dismissed this once the Patriots drafted Wynn, because they’re the Patriots and they have Dante Scarnecchia: Wynn wasn’t projected as a left tackle at the NFL level going into the draft. Standing at 6-foot-2, he does not have ideal left tackle size. He has a prototypical guard’s build.
That hasn’t stopped the Patriots from working Wynn toward becoming their left tackle. But it’s definitely been a slower build than we’re used to seeing. Perhaps slower than they expected.
FOXBOROUGH, MA – AUGUST 16: Tom Brady of the New England Patriots throws a pass in the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles as Isaiah Wynn blocks during the preseason game at Gillette Stadium. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
With joint practices and the first two preseason games coming up with the Lions and Titans, it appears unlikely that Wynn would get close to the same amount of reps at left tackle as Skipper. Based on Friday, the plan could be to sprinkle him in with the starters and see how it goes.
Wynn has technically been a full participant since the start of camp, but until the last couple of days he’d mostly been a spectator. Now that he’s starting to see more plays to the left of Joe Thuney and protecting Brady, the Patriots’ plans for him are starting to come into focus.
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff or email him at matthew.dolloff@bbgi.com.