How Did Patriots' Offensive Line Get This Bad?

09/20/2024 02:14 PM

The Patriots have one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL.

No, that's letting them off the hook.

New England's front five is one of the worst position groups the league has seen over the last few seasons, and it doesn't appear as though there's an easy fix on the horizon. Jacoby Brissett is in danger back there, having been pressured on more than half his total dropbacks on the season, and any hope of things improving with Drake Maye under center went out the window in Thursday's loss to the New York Jets.

How did it get this way, though?

INJURIES

The Patriots' biggest problems this season have come from the string of injuries that have hit them -- especially on the offensive line. Vederian Lowe has knee and ankle injuries that stretch all the way back to training camp, and they've gotten bad enough that he just couldn't go on a short week against the Jets. Chukwuma Okorafor, of course, left the team and seems to be well on his way toward retirement.

Caedan Wallace stepped in for the two of them to fill in Thursday, making him the third person to start at left tackle over the first three weeks.

Sidy Sow's injury has been a sneaky problem since the middle of the summer, as he suffered a high-ankle sprain and hasn't practiced since training camp ended. Cole Strange, the former first-round pick, hasn't practiced at all and doesn't appear to be an option any time soon. New England has been forced to lean elsewhere, with rookie Layden Robinson and journeyman Michael Jordan starting at guard over the first three weeks.

Okorafor, Sow, Strange, Lowe and Jake Andrews all were thought to be legitimate options coming into the season, but have spent the majority of their time trying to get healthy.

BAD PERSONNEL DECISIONS

Buckle up.

Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf deserves a lot of blame for his inability to make solid upgrades at tackle this offseason, but bad personnel decisions stretch back to 2020. Bill Belichick got the ball rolling with two massive mistakes, opting not to re-sign franchise guard Joe Thuney and trading away stud Shaq Mason in back-to-back offseasons. Ted Karras was a solid fill-in for Thuney and eventually, David Andrews, but Karras was allowed to walk, as well.

Belichick didn't do himself any favors in the draft, either.

Isaiah Wynn was decent when on the field, but missed 24 games across his four-season tenure in Foxboro, Mass. Cole Strange was selected in the first round -- but while he's a decent player, the selection was legitimately mocked in real-time and can only be described as a bust considering it's unknown if he has a job when he eventually gets healthy. Justin Herron, Will Sherman, Chasen Hines, Andrew Stueber and Atonio Mafi didn't do a damn thing in their time with the Patriots.

Wolf deserves all of the blame for what has happened in the last eight months, though.

The Patriots had a clear need at left tackle this offseason, as it became clear Trent Brown wouldn't be returning. Tyrone Smith, Jonah Williams, La'el Collins and Josh Njiman headlined a pretty piss-poor class, but none of them ended up in New England. Why? We have no idea.

COACHING CAROUSEL

The Patriots have relied on six offensive line coaches over the last six seasons: Scott Peters, Adrian Klemm, Matt Patricia, Carmen Bricillo, Cole Popovich and Dante Scarnecchia.

Scarnecchia might be the only name you recognize for positive reasons, and that's because he's the only one who proved to be competent -- which is why he held down the job for the majority of three decades.

New England has made a lot of silly choices over the years, but the idea behind completely changing their rushing attack for the third consecutive offseason is one of the dumbest. Rhamondre Stevenson even showed how much he enjoyed the new system by demanding they change it back in the closing stretches of a Week 1 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. One Patriot Place has been the site of whatever the opposite of continuity is, which has made it incredibly difficult for everyone involved (players, coaches and staff) to find success.

It's going to take a lot to eventually fix this. Wolf has to knock his personnel decisions out of the park, which likely will start with drafting LSU's Will Campbell or Texas' Kelvin Banks in the upcoming draft. Peters is going to have to straighten out the current unit, or he could be at risk of becoming the fifth straight guy to lose his job after one season. David Andrews, Onwenu and the rest of the guys being relied upon will have a huge part in helping out, so long as they can stay healthy.

It isn't going to be easy, but that's their own damn fault.