Getty Patriots coach Mike Vrabel has yet to figure out the left guard position.
Spring practices are now in the rear view mirror for the New England Patriots, and the start of training camp is more than five weeks away. But new head coach Mike Vrabel continues to have very little idea who will play one of the most important positions on the field. That position is not quarterback, or wide receiver, or middle linebacker — but left guard.
“We’re moving a lot of guys through there. We’ll have to make a lot of those decisions and determinations once we get to training camp and there’s pads and start stacking some days together,” Vrabel said at the end of the Patriots minicamp last week, where practices are required to be held on a non-contact, no-pads basis. “I don’t know if we get a full evaluation without shoulder pads on as an offensive lineman.”
O-Line Was a Serious Liability in 2024
After fielding a dangerously porous offensive line last season, which allowed 52 sacks divided between quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett (18) and rookie Drake Maye (34), one of Vrabel’s top priorities has been bolstering the line play.
The Patriots signed 11-year veteran free agent Morgan Moses to man the right tackle position, and another free agent, former Minnesota Viking Garrett Bradbury, at center.
The Patriots’ 2020 sixth round draft pick Michael Onwenu is slated to stay at the right guard spot. For the left tackle position, charged with protecting the quarterback’s blind side and often considered the most important offensive position other than QB, Vrabel and the Patriots used the fourth overall pick in the draft to take Will Campbell out of LSU.
But who lines up to Campbell’s right? The left guard position is also crucial, though according to NFL.com analyst Bucky Brooks, “many coaches will stash their most vulnerable front-line blocker” there, because the center can be used to double team, compensating for the left guard’s deficiencies.
That may be why the position appears to be Vrabel’s lowest priority — but that doesn’t mean left guard is not important. When OTA practices opened three weeks ago, 2022 first round draft pick Cole Strange and free agent acquisition Wes Schweitzer were splitting the first-team reps.
But then Schweitzer suddenly retired. That left Strange as the presumptive starter, but as Vrabel made clear, he hasn’t made a decision yet.
Mysterious Ailment For Left Guard Draft Pick
One other chief competitor was supposed to be third-round draft pick Jared Wilson, taken 95th overall out of Georgia. Signed to a four-year, $6.2 million rookie contract, the Patriots clearly intended Wilson to battle for the position.
But Wilson, though he participated in the Patriots rookie camp, remained on the sidelines when OTAs and mandatory minicamp came around. On Sunday, longtime ESPN.com Patriots correspondent Mike Reiss reported that Wilson has been suffering from an “undisclosed injury.”
“Wilson could be in the mix for the wide-open left-guard job. He could also be a top interior backup on game-day,” Reiss wrote. “Thus, his readiness for the start of training camp is near the top of the team’s list when it comes to injuries/rehabilitation.”
Reiss called Wilson’s mysterious injury “an important, but perhaps overlooked, storyline.”
USA Today Patriotswire writer Jordy McElroy seconded Reiss’s view.
“Whether as a starter or top backup, the former Georgia standout’s recovery and development could have major implications for the Patriots down the road,” McElroy wrote.
