FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Will OL hold up? Not long after Rich Ohrnberger was selected in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL draft by the Patriots, he remembers the team's legendary offensive line coach, Dante Scarnecchia, succinctly summing up the situation to players.
"Hey, you know that guy standing right there behind you? Yeah, he's the franchise. So we need you to protect him like our lives depend on it. Because all of our jobs depend on it!"
Ohrnberger obviously knew that about Tom Brady, but he recalled in an interview with ESPN last week that hearing it in those sharp-tongued terms "was one of those really impactful things that you carry with you."
Scarnecchia's words are timely to revisit because they highlight one of the top questions facing the 2024 Patriots -- especially as it relates to when Drake Maye, the No. 3 pick in the draft and hopeful quarterback of the future, might be elevated to the starting job.
The team has two spots solidified on the offensive line with center David Andrews and right tackle Mike Onwenu, and there's a good chance 2023 fourth-round choice Sidy Sow (13 starts as a rookie) will be filling one of the guard spots.
The other two spots on the line?
"They have some work to do," ESPN football analyst Damien Woody said diplomatically.
The potential O-line shakiness showed up Wednesday in last week's lone practice open to reporters, when in an 11-on-11 drill, veteran quarterback and current starter Jacoby Brissett was smothered by the pass rush and the play was quickly blown dead; defensive linemen Deatrich Wise Jr. and Trysten Hill were among those who seemed to be in the backfield in an instant.
The play, along with a poorly executed tight-end screen later in the drill with Maye at quarterback, never had a chance.
Two plays in a nonpadded, spring practice aren't necessarily a harbinger of bad things to come, and the top line was competitive enough in ensuing snaps. Perhaps more than anything the two plays were a reminder that as much as executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and his staff focused on "weaponizing" the offense this offseason -- with Maye and receivers Ja'Lynn Polk (second round, No. 37) and Javon Baker (fourth round, No. 110) as key pieces -- it won't matter much if the line can't hold up its end of the bargain.
That's something Woody, the former 12-year NFL offensive lineman who won two Super Bowls in New England (2001, 2003), has long stressed.
"I always tell people, at the end of the year into the playoffs, the teams that are playing usually have a really good quarterback, and more than likely, a pretty damn good offensive line. It's rare that you see a bad offensive line playing deep into the postseason," he said.
In 2023, the Patriots ranked last in ESPN's pass block win rate (43.4.%), which conveys how often linemen can sustain their blocks for 2.5 seconds or longer.
Arguably the Patriots' most glaring uncertainty is at left tackle, where free agent signing Chukwuma Okorafor is the current projected starter. The 6-foot-6, 320-pound Okorafor was benched last season in Pittsburgh and hasn't played on the left side since his college days at Western Michigan (2014-2017). His top competition is 2024 third-round pick Caedan Wallace of Penn State, who played right tackle in college but New England's staff believes he has the ability to flip sides.
Ross Tucker, the former seven-year NFL offensive lineman-turned-analyst and host of the "The Ross Tucker Football Podcast," sees a significant roll of the dice.
"The left side is very, very concerning," he said. "Both of those guys are question marks, and to me moving them to left, now it's like a double question mark. Maybe they feel like between the two guys at least one of them will work out, but I've seen game before where neither of them works out. That can be problematic."
Meanwhile, starting left guard Cole Strange injured his knee late last December, and Mayo indicated his timetable to return is in the long-range category. In Strange's absence, which is likely to extend into the regular season, the Patriots have had 2023 fifth-round pick Atonio Mafi, 2024 fourth-round pick Layden Robinson, and free agent signings Nick Leverett (fourth year) and Michael Jordan (fifth year) rotating at guard.
Mayo is relying on first-year offensive line coach Scott Peters and his assistant Robert Kugler to make it all work. Peters spent the past four seasons in Cleveland as Bill Callahan's assistant, which is significant to Woody because of how highly he regards Callahan.
"I felt so blessed to play for who I believe are the two best offensive line coaches -- Dante Scarnecchia to start my career [with the Patriots] and Bill Callahan to finish my career [with the Jets]. So Scott Peters, he saw a legend firsthand. To be able to be around him, in those meetings, and seeing the techniques and coordination of the run game; if he brings the same thing I think the Patriots will be right on track," he said.
In assessing some of the NFL's best offensive lines, Woody, Tucker and Ohrnberger all mentioned the Lions as one of the standards for other teams to match.
Ohrnberger, who is currently host of the "Big Rich, TD and Fletch" show on San Diego Sports 760, also highlighted the importance of continuity for any line while noting that what might not appear to be a strong line can grow into one in time.
"I think people sometimes assume that players in the NFL are static. But just because a group had a rough year doesn't mean they can't perform well the next year. Players get better. They learn technique better. They learn the playbook better. Development occurs over years," he said. "When systems change, if you have the great fortune of playing next to some consistent players, that helps you learn as a group together."
Andrews and Onwenu hold the key for the Patriots in that area, while Sow flashed some promise. Where it goes from there will be one of the team's closely watched storylines.
2. Maye reps: In the two practices open to reporters over the past two weeks, Maye has been working behind Brissett and third-year quarterback Bailey Zappe when all are on the same field. The repetition breakdown in 11-on-11 drills of those practices had Brissett getting 17 snaps, Zappe 13 and Maye nine.
But when the Patriots split the practice over two fields, and the focus was more 7-on-7 work, Maye's repetitions spiked. In the most recent practice, Maye had 14 repetitions in that period (12-of-14 passing), compared to seven apiece for Brissett and Zappe.
This shows how the Patriots are carefully managing Maye's progression, as he doesn't have to concern himself with the pass rush in 7-on-7 drills, and thus can solely focus on his reads down the field. Coaches are giving him his heaviest work in that area, and once Maye shows consistent proficiency, they'll likely add to his workload with more 11-on-11 drills to see how it looks against a rush.
Said Mayo: "The better you do on a day-after-day basis, not just on the field but in the classroom, the more reps you'll get going forward."
3. White's impression: When asked if he has been surprised by a player at this point, Mayo singled out 2023 second-round pick Keion White, the versatile defensive lineman from Georgia Tech who Mayo said is asserting himself more behind the scenes.
Coaches said White splits time between the defensive line and outside linebacker meeting rooms, and coordinator DeMarcus Covington relayed he has hit the three key targets they discussed at the outset of the spring: 1. Showing up; 2. Being present; 3. Staying consistent.
4. No. 1 pick in 2025? ESPN's Football Power Index rates the Patriots as having the most challenging schedule in 2024, which along with their evolving roster contributes to them having the highest odds (22%) to hold the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. Ouch. It would mark the first time the Patriots picked first since taking quarterback Drew Bledsoe No. 1 in 1993.
5. OLB outlook: Outside linebacker Matthew Judon's absence from the first two weeks of voluntary practices has opened the door for coaches to get a longer look at some of the players behind him and fellow starter Anfernee Jennings.
Free agent signing Oshane Ximines (fifth year, Old Dominion) and former practice-squad player William Bradley-King (first year, Baylor) have taken advantage, putting them in the category of under-the-radar players building momentum to make an unexpected charge for a roster spot. With so much media attention naturally focused on Maye and the offense during practices, not to be overlooked are some of the new faces potentially emerging on D.
6. Brady night: Woody is among the hundreds of former teammates of Brady who plan to be in attendance for Brady's in-stadium sold-out induction into the Patriots' Hall of Fame on Wednesday June 12. Woody will be attending with his wife Nicole, who said to him recently: "It's time to go home. That's where everything started for you."
Woody, who played at Boston College and then began his NFL career in New England (1999-2003), hasn't been back to the area in several years. But he refers to New England as his "second home" because of what it meant to his career.
7. McDaniels on Brady: Former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has kept a lower profile since the Raiders fired him last November, but he was recently back in the New England football meeting room to dissect some of Brady's greatest game-winning drives for the team website. Brady's return will spark poignant memories for many, and for those who crave football X's and O's and seeing the game through the eyes of a top quarterback coach and player, it's a unique trip down Memory Lane.
In the biggest moments, Brady delivered.
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) May 31, 2024
Josh McDaniels breaks down @TomBrady's best comebacks: https://t.co/PtCQkSPBBG pic.twitter.com/3EO4D20yUH
8. Belichick's honor: Bill Belichick isn't coaching in the NFL for the first time since 1975, which allowed him to travel to Croatia late last week, where he received special recognition from President Zoran Milanovic for his career accomplishments and for using his platform to represent his Croatian roots. Belichick often wore a Croatian pin in his final seasons with the team. His visit continues into this week as he is scheduled to be a guest of the Croatian Football Association on Monday.
9. They said it: "The arm talent is definitely there. I've seen him make some throws where I was like, 'That's a helluva throw right there.'" - safety Jabrill Peppers on Maye
10. Did you know: Patriots linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley has registered more than 100 tackles in each of the past three seasons; he can join Vincent Brown (four straight from 1991-1994) and Mayo (five straight from 2008-2012) as the only Patriots players with at least four straight 100-tackle seasons.