Eliot Wolf isn’t hitting the panic button on the Patriots’ offensive line situation quite yet.
The Patriots’ executive vice president of player personnel reiterated his belief that New England has a strong enough roster to support a rookie quarterback, saying he likes the players the team has on their offensive line.
“We’re concerned about every position,” Wolf told reporters when asked if he still felt the Patriots could support a rookie quarterback considering their offensive line situation. “We’re always looking to improve and get things good, so whoever the quarterback is — it’s not like if Jacoby’s [Brissett] the quarterback, we just want to throw him with the wolves.
“So, we’re excited about our offensive line group. We’re still working to find the correct combination in there, and I think we have the pieces in place to be able to compete.”
Prior to selecting Drake Maye in April’s draft, Wolf had said he felt the team he constructed over the offseason could support a rookie quarterback.
So far, the early returns haven’t been great in supporting that statement. The Patriots have tried out a few different starting offensive line combinations in three-plus weeks of training camp practices and two preseason games.
The Patriots’ offensive line seemed to hit a low point during their joint practice with the Eagles on Tuesday. Maye was sacked eight times during the 11-on-11 session as he worked behind the second unit. The starting unit wasn’t much better as Brissett was sacked seven times during the 11-on-11 session.
Maye was mostly able to stay upright in Thursday’s preseason game, getting sacked once over the quarter-and-a-half he played. But he only played six snaps in the preseason opener, with head coach Jerod Mayo citing the team’s offensive line struggles as a reason to not play Maye any more than that.
When he was reminded of Mayo’s comments during Sunday’s press conference, Wolf said the team is still focused on trying things out along the offensive line with the players they have.
“I think we’re just trying to find the right combination,” Wolf said. “We feel confident in all these players, and we’re just working to find the best group, rather than the best five individuals.”
In search of that “right combination,” the Patriots shuffled around their starting group again at Saturday’s practice. Michael Onwenu moved from right guard to right tackle. Chukwuma Okarafor went from right tackle to left tackle. Sidy Sow (left guard) and David Andrews (center) remained in their spots, with fourth-round rookie Layden Robinson moving into right guard.
Vederian Lowe, who has been the Patriots’ primary left tackle in camp and the preseason, was bumped out of the group. Lowe allowed the only sack of Maye in Thursday’s loss to the Eagles. He also wasn’t great in 2023 after the Patriots acquired him on the eve of the season, allowing six sacks and 37 pressures over eight starts, per Pro Football Focus.
Wolf still has some confidence, though, in Lowe.
“Vederian’s done a really nice job. He’s steadily improved,” Wolf said. “We said it last year, if he could just learn that he has really good length to get his hands out, then he would have a chance to ascend to that starter level.
“He’s really started to do that this year, and it’s been impressive to watch him progress. We’re excited to continue working with him.”
While Lowe has received much of the scorn so far in training camp and the preseason, Mayo expressed some dissatisfaction with the backup units of the offensive line. He said following Thursday’s preseason game that there’s a “dramatic” gap between the starting and backup units on knowing what to do.
Wolf noted, though, that the backup units will need some time to develop the right communication due to the shuffling around through the first few weeks of camp.
“I think it’s about developing that consistency,” Wolf said. “It’s less about an individual not knowing what to do, but it’s more about having trust in the guy next to you. If you trust the guy next to you, it’s easier for you to do your job.”
All in all, Wolf seems hopeful that the offensive line will play well this season.
“We’re pretty comfortable with our group right now,” Wolf said. “Obviously, we’re going to look to upgrade on the offensive line or at any position, if we feel like we can. But I think we gave up one sack the other night.
“Again, it was Philly’s two’s, but it was an improvement to the practice on Tuesday. So, again, we’re just looking to see how these guys respond to adverse situations.”
