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Why Patriots might still take OT early in NFL Draft despite Onwenu’s return originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots re-signed their most important free agent, Mike Onwenu, early in NFL free agency. But there’s more work to be done to improve the team’s talent and depth at the offensive tackle position.
Despite Onwenu’s return, the Patriots could still target an offensive tackle early in the 2024 NFL Draft because, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the 26-year-old veteran is expected to play at right tackle going forward.
Note on Mike Onwenu, who signed a 3-year, $57M deal during free agency. He’s expected to be the #Patriots starting right tackle moving forward, sources say. The plan is for the extremely versatile player to finally settle in on the right side. https://t.co/G8HumvfnLG
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 18, 2024
Onwenu playing on the right side allows the Patriots to make the left tackle spot a priority over the first two days of the draft. Offensive tackle is one of the deepest positions in the 2024 class, so much so that we could see 10 or more of these players taken in the first two rounds.
“I think outside of quarterback, this is the most interesting group overall, on everybody’s draft board,” ESPN’s Jordan Reid told Phil Perry on NBC Sports Boston’s Next Pats Podcast in January.
“Everyone wants to see the pre-draft process play out with this offensive tackle group because I think we could see as many as seven or eight go in the first round — an astronomical number. I think it would be the most since 2007 or something like that.”
If the Patriots trade the No. 3 overall pick and move down in the first round, they could look at one of the top left tackles available, depending on how far down in the order they go.
Perry explored one such scenario in his mock draft 4.0 earlier this month, where the Patriots moved back to No. 6 in a trade with the New York Giants and selected Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt. Alt and Penn State’s…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-patriots-might-still-ot-154306134.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-03-18 16:43:34
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