Patriots offensive line has a long way to go in training camp
The New England Patriots offensive line has work to do.
They do have plenty of time to come together, but the unit has been arguably the biggest problem on the team for three years running, and remains a major question mark at the start of 2024 training camp in Foxboro. Their issues stood out in a worrisome way during the second open practice of camp on Thursday, bringing back memories of line play so bad that it torpedoed entire seasons.
The bulk of the issues, however, came at right tackle, where Vederian Lowe got plenty of work with the projected starters in team drills. Lowe is, was, and will be a longshot to even play that much, let alone start. But his mere presence in a primary role was an indication of the uncertainty at that particular spot on the line, where rookie Caedan Wallace and veteran Calvin Anderson have better chances of sticking.
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Lowe allowed pressure on consecutive plays during 11-on-11 drills, each including blitzes by safety Joshuah Bledsoe and linebacker Joe Giles-Harris, respectively. The first play resulted in an incomplete pass. The second pressure play came from defensive end Keion White, who is certainly a better player than Lowe and a potential cornerstone for the Pats defense, and quarterback Jacoby Brissett couldn’t even get a throw off.
It wasn’t just Lowe that got broken through in 11-on-11. Defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale beat his gap between left guard Sidy Sow and center David Andrews for a pressure, and was joined by Matthew Judon off the edge on the play. Left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor got beat off the left side by Deatrich Wise Jr. on another rep.
Lowe made it back in with the 1’s on the offensive line for the final two 11-on-11 plays of practice, which both appeared to be walkthroughs focusing on pre-snap cadence. So, Lowe did get a fair shot to play with the projected starters. He just didn’t do well with his opportunity.
Through two practices, four of the five spots on the Patriots offensive line appear to be set, for now. It’s only right tackle that has looked more like an open competition. But perhaps the concerning performance of the unit on Thursday will lead to a different look on Friday.
Speaking to reporters after practice on Thursday, Okorafor indicated that the Patriots are keeping an open mind on just about every spot on the O-line, save for perhaps Andrews, a longtime team captain at center. With that in mind, every lineman is going to have to familiarize himself with every other lineman that could be next to him.
“Right now, I think everything is open,” Okorafor said. “Our coaches said every day will be like a different line, so we don’t really know who’s going to be the guys yet. With dave [Andrews] and Mike [Onwenu], we obviously know about them, but everything else is open. So, we’ve just got to figure out how everyone else works.
“I might be playing next to Nick [Leverett] tomorrow or next week. Like I said, it’s just important to know how everyone plays.”
The line is a work in progress at the moment, to put it kindly. There’s still more than a month before the start of the regular season and plenty more training camp practices, and they haven’t even put on full pads yet. That’s when we’ll really get an idea of where the Pats are at.
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But for an offensive line that had already been struggling in recent seasons, and a front office that took a conservative approach to bolstering the group in the 2024 off-season, their early issues are frustrating to watch.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
