Is the Patriots top offseason priority at offensive tackle? (2022 positional review)

With the 2022 season in the books, MassLive will look at each position group on the Patriots, analyzing how the team performed in 2022 and where it might be heading in the future. Today we look at the offensive line.

Offensive line: Trent Brown, Cole Strange, David Andrews, Michael Onwenu, Isaiah Wynn, Conor McDermott, James Ferentz, Yodny Cajuste, Marcus Cannon, Kody Russey, Chasen Hines, Andrew Stueber, Hayden Howerton, Bill Murray

Contract situation: The Patriots head into this offseason with a severe lack of depth at the tackle position.

The Patriots have four veteran tackles who are set to become free agents – Wynn, McDermott, Cajuste and Cannon. Their backup center, Ferentz, is also a free agent.

At this moment, the team has two under contract – Brown and Stueber. Brown, 29, enters 2023 in the final year of his contract. He has a cap number of $12.25 million. The Patriots could save $11 million if they cut Brown. The only other tackle, Stueber, is in the second year of his rookie deal, which pays him $870,000 next season.

The Patriots are at least set up at guard and center.

Andrews, 30, is in the third year of his four-year extension. He’ll have a cap hit of just over $6.998 million in 2023. That rises to $7.425 million in 2024. Onwenu, 25, is in the final year of his rookie deal. Right now, his cap hit is $1.06 million. Strange, 24, is in the second year of his rookie contract and will account for $2.785 million.

• Massachusetts sports betting is coming soon. Learn more about the top sportsbook operators coming to MA such as BetMGM Massachusetts and Barstool Sportsbook Massachusetts

The Patriots have three backups under contract. Hines is in the second year of his rookie deal and will earn $870,000. Russey is under contract for the same amount in 2023. Howerton was signed to a future contract for $750,000. Murray was signed to a future contract for $870,000.

2022 review: If we’re being honest, this was a disaster. The Patriots tackle position was awful in 2022 – and that’s putting it mildly.

The coaches opted to switch Wynn to right tackle and Brown to left. It didn’t work out. Wynn started seven total games before ending up on the second-ending injured reserve. He allowed five sacks, two hits and was called for five holding penalties in nine total games.

Wynn was briefly benched for Cannon, before he suffered a season-ending concussion. Even though he missed most of the 2022 season, Wynn had the 14th most penalties in the NFL.

On the other side, Brown played in all 17 games. He dealt with an injury for three weeks but only missed one start. In the end, he allowed a team-high nine sacks and 10 quarterback hits. He was tied for the tenth-most penalties in the NFL.

The Patriots mixed and matched Cannon, Cajuste and finally McDermott at tackle. After being signed off the New York Jets practice squad, McDermott played well – all things considered. He started the final six games, allowing seven hits and one sack.

This season, the Patriots allowed 41 sacks. The team hasn’t allowed that much since 2008 (48). The group only allowed 28 in 2021. Mac Jones was sacked on 7.1% of his drop backs. That number was 5.1% the year before.

The best part of this offensive line was the interior players. Onwenu was snubbed for the Pro Bowl. The starting right guard looks like a star. He played the most offensive snaps in New England and allowed just one sack, one quarterback hit and was called for zero holding penalties in 2022.

Andrews missed two games with a concussion and then another with a thigh injury. He played through pain this season and had another successful campaign at center. Andrews allowed three sacks and three hits last season.

The Patriots first-round pick, Strange had some rookie moments but started all 17 games at left guard. The rookie improved as the year went on. In the first eight games, Strange allowed three sacks, two hits and was called for three holding penalties. In the final nine games, he allowed one sack, one hit and was called for no holding penalties.

The future: The Patriots No. 1 priority this offseason is to rebuild their tackle position.

There’s no guarantee that Brown is back. The Patriots can clear $11 million of his $12.25 million cap hit if they want. Brown has the capability of being one of the best tackles and it’s up to the Patriots to get that out of him.

Considering Wynn’s dismal performance, the Patriots should move on. The team needs to add a veteran tackle in free agency or via the trade market. They should spend on this position because it’s so vital to their offense’s success. There are three top players scheduled to hit free agency here – left tackle Orlando Brown Jr, right tackle Mike McGlinchey and right tackle Kaleb McGary.

The Patriots should sign one of those right tackles (McGlinchey or McGary). After that, they shouldn’t stop adding. It makes sense to bring McDermott back as a backup. The Patriots should also draft a tackle this spring.

Even if they bring back Brown, he’s under contract for one year. One avenue they could travel down is to sign a high-priced free agent and then draft a tackle early. They wouldn’t instantly shore up that position.

The Patriots should also think about locking up Onwenu long term. The team could also use more depth at center and guard.

---