Patriots training camp battles: Who will be the fifth offensive lineman? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Editor’s Note: With training camp kicking off next week, Patriots Insider Phil Perry is highlighting key position battles to watch on the practice fields outside Gillette Stadium. Tuesday’s battle focused on wide receivers. Next up: the offensive line.
Earlier this week, we touched on key Patriots training camp battles we’re expecting to play out at corner and receiver. Those matter. No question.
But, outside of what’s happening at quarterback, there’s one position group where the competition for roles is more critical than any other (because of, wait for it, the impact it’ll have on the quarterback position): offensive line.
Based on what the Patriots put on the field during spring workouts, three of the five spots seem relatively settled. David Andrews at center, Sidy Sow at left guard and Chukwuma Okorafor at left tackle appear to be the preferred options.
We also know that Mike Onwenu, fresh off signing a contract in the offseason that makes him one of the most well-compensated offensive linemen in football, will start. Somewhere. Where exactly he’ll anchor remains to be seen because he’s a viable starter at both right tackle and right guard.
Therefore, in pursuit of discovering the best combination of five blockers available to them, the Patriots could make the unknown fifth starter a guard, which would allow Onwenu to settle on the outside. Or they could make that fifth starter a tackle, bumping Onwenu inside to serve as a highly capable (and expensive) guard.
Who takes that fifth spot, and where do they settle along the line? Those questions should be answered over the course of camp. Let’s comb through the names.
The favorite
Caedan Wallace finished up the spring working in with the top offensive line group at right tackle — where he started 40 games while at Penn State prior to becoming a third-round pick of the Patriots. If the team wants one of…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-training-camp-battles-fifth-003310456.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-07-18 00:33:10
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
