Patriots Use Mid-Round Selections on Linemen

The New England Patriots made a few interesting picks in this past weekend’s NFL Draft. The Patriots went heavy on defense with their first three picks, which were all excellent selections for where each player was selected in the draft; then, the Patriots diverted their attention to the offensive line, where they selected linemen with picks number 107, 117, and 144. The real question is, is this enough to protect Mac Jones or anyone else who plays quarterback for the New England Patriots in 2023?

Jake Andrews (Troy), Sidy Sow (Eastern Michigan), and Atonio Mafi (UCLA) are all linemen that fill significant roles both immediately and for the future. Hopefully, Andrews will one day be David Andrews’s replacement, but in the meantime, they will be a depth lineman. Sidy Sow gives the Patriots excellent versatility as his size allows him to play left tackle, but he also has more experience at guard. His size makes him an excellent run blocker, but he looks to be a project pick for now.

Mafi is another player that gives the Patriots depth but only in the interior offensive line. Mafi also switched over from the defensive side of the ball in 2021 and started every game for UCLA in 2022 at guard. As Patriot’s Director of Player Personnel Matt Groh said, “You can never have too many good offensive linemen.”

Quarterback Protection is Key For 2023

The issue facing the offensive line was not the number of sacks they allowed, which was 41 during the entire season; it was the timing of them. Mac Jones alone was sacked 34 times last year in 14 games but, at times, seemed to be running for his life in the pocket. He never looked comfortable dropping back to pass, even with time to throw, as it appeared he had a constant paranoia about pressure.

The real issue was the tackles last season, as the revolving door of tackles was massive. Between Trent Brown and Isaiah Wynn, the Patriots had 17 penalties, with 11 being holding calls and eight as false starts. Although those are not directly correlated with quarterback protection, holding calls in some cases are; the overall sloppiness of tackle play was apparent as the season went on. The Patriots really need to keep Jones upright this year, too, as a call on whether to pick up his fifth-year option needs to be made after the season.

NESN’s Patriots reporter Zack Cox has all three linemen making the squad, most notably veteran lineman James Ferentz being one of the odd men out. It will be interesting to see how the Patriots utilize all three of the linemen as they, as mentioned before, will, on paper, be used as depth players

Patriots Elected to Take Interior Linemen Over Tackles

The Patriots did have chances to draft tackles in this draft, trading out from 14 to let the Pittsburgh Steelers select Broderick Jones, and could have had value picks in the third round at the position. Players like Tyler Steen (Alabama), Dawand Jones (Ohio State), and Carter Warren (Pittsburg) were all mid-round selections that the Patriots could take a swing at but elected to pick interior depth linemen. Nobody can knock taking what, on paper, seem to be solid selections, but the only focus on interior linemen is what boggles the mind.

Notable Additions For Patriots

On another note, New England selected LSU’s Kayshon Boutte in the sixth round, which could go down as one of the steals of this draft. Boutte was looked to be one of the more prominent names at the receiver position heading into the 2022 season. He had a decent college career, but his production dropped each year after his 2020 freshman campaign, which put his name on the map.

He was the 22nd receiver taken, and if he can blossom into a number two or three receiver for the Patriots, that would be ideal. He grades out at a 6.10 on NFL.com, which is good backup potential, with an upside to exceed that if he can stay healthy. His LSU career had its ups and down as he had many off the field issue mixed in with a number of injuries.

The other exciting move the Patriots made was after the draft when they signed Louisville’s Malik Cunningham. Cunningham spent five years as a Cardinal and had his most dominant season in 2021, throwing for almost three thousand yards and rushing for over a thousand. He tied Lamar Jackson’s all-time rushing touchdowns and had better passing statistics throughout his career than Jackson.

New England gave him one of the most significant guaranteed contracts ever for an undrafted free agent at $200,000, and he could be someone to keep an eye on as his career progresses.