FOXBORO, Mass. — The Patriots might surprise some people when they take the field for practice Wednesday.
It’ll be the first of training camp, so there’s bound to be a few surprises. Which wideouts will Drake Maye be throwing to? What does the defensive line rotation look like? How is New England approaching the new kickoff rule?
Is Mike Onwenu really moving back to guard?
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo all but planted the seeds for the move Tuesday, speaking with reporters for the first time in a few weeks and confirming it could be a possibility.
“I’ve had this conversation with (Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt). I’ve also talked to Mike and the rest of those offensive linemen. We’re going to put the best five players out there on the field as an offensive line. If that means you’ve got to play guard or play tackle, I don’t know. We’ll see, it’ll play itself out in camp. That’s my mindset, it’s about putting the best players on the field.
New England hasn’t been shy about moving Onwenu in the past, and already introduced the idea during spring workouts. Chukwuma Okorafor-Sidy Sow-David Andrews-Onwenu-Caedan Wallace was the top group, from left to right, when practices wrapped.
Mayo’s claim that the Patriots will play the top five linemen isn’t completely true, though.
Cole Strange is dealing with a long-term knee injury, and likely would be in that group if healthy. Okorafor could be replaced by any number of depth options, but seems to be the Patriots’ only true option at left tackle.
“I would say right now, based on the time he’s been in the league alone, he’s going to start there,” Mayo said about Okorafor playing left tackle. “But again, my mentality and our offensive mentality is to put the five best guys out on the field. We’ll see how it plays out.”
Does that mean Wallace will get a shot on the left side? Is Calvin Anderson capable of taking over after a lost season? Is Okorafor just a holdover, with Onwenu and Wallace bound to make a change?
New England has questions left to answer, but the baseline philosophy does help point us in the right direction as to what the lineup ultimately will look like.
