The Patriots spent the offseason making life easier for Drake Maye, but none of that matters much if the front five can’t hold up.
That’s the real pressure point heading into Week 1, when New England opens the season with a Super Bowl rematch against the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday, September 9. The offense has new pieces, sure, but the whole operation still runs through the offensive line - and that group has to be better than it was when the games mattered most.
Last season’s playoff run exposed the issue. The line had its share of trouble during the postseason, and it got even uglier in the Super Bowl, when Seattle’s defensive line disrupted Maye all game. If the Patriots are hoping for a cleaner start this time around, that’s the area that has to change first.
The good news for New England is that the line isn’t being rebuilt from scratch. Four starters are back, including the entire right side with Mike Onwenu at right guard and Morgan Moses at right tackle.
Will Campbell returns at left tackle, while Jared Wilson is back and shifting from left guard to center, which is his natural spot. The other new face is free-agent addition Alijah Vera-Tucker, who is set to start at left guard.
Doug Marrone is also back as the offensive line coach.
That doesn’t make the unit bulletproof, but it does mean there’s continuity. And continuity is exactly what the Patriots need after a stretch where the line’s uneven play became impossible to ignore. A solid showing in Seattle would calm a lot of nerves fast.
The offense around Maye looks much better on paper than it did a year ago. New England added A.J.
Brown and Romeo Doubs, giving Maye a legitimate No. 1 target and a strong No. 2 option. Hunter Henry remains the starting tight end, and he already has chemistry with the quarterback.
Still, all of those upgrades depend on one thing: time. If Maye doesn’t get protection, the receiving talent won’t matter nearly as much. The Patriots can’t afford another night like the Super Bowl, because keeping their quarterback healthy is the foundation of the season.
Week 1 will arrive earlier than usual, too, with the NFL’s opening game set for a Wednesday instead of a Thursday. For New England, the focus is simple: the offensive line has to show up in Seattle.
In Other News...
Patriots May Regret This Backfield Decision Sooner Than Fans Think
Lan Larisons path through Patriots camp has already been a little unusual, and it settled into a familiar late-summer pattern on cutdown day. New England waived the rookie running back before bringing him back on the practice squad, keeping him in the organization but not on the 53-man roster as the team sorted out its backfield depth.
The more notable move was the addition of Corey Kiner, acquired in a trade with Arizona and placed on the active roster as the third running back. Larison had turned enough heads with his college production and preseason work to make the decision worth watching, and for now the Patriots are betting that Kiner is the safer choice while Larison waits just one step away from a call-up. [Read more 🡒]
Belichick Snub Forced A Hall Of Fame Change Patriots Fans Will Notice
The Pro Football Hall of Fame has overhauled its voting setup, trimming the selection committee from 50 members to 28 and changing how nominees are presented. The adjustments are meant to cut down on unintended biases, and they arrive in the wake of Bill Belichick not being elected as a first-ballot Hall of Famer, a result that naturally caught the attention of Patriots fans who have watched his legacy judged on every possible stage.
Under the new format, one non-committee member will handle all initial candidate presentations, and every player will now come from the same pool once the five-year retirement window has passed. It is a notable shift for a process that has long carried its own quirks, and for New England supporters it adds another layer to the conversation around how Belichicks place in football history is being evaluated. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Pass Rush Depth Problem Creates One Tempting Mistake
The Patriots front looks sturdy enough on paper with a solid starting group, but the problem behind it is hard to ignore, especially on passing downs. New England has spent time building around the edges, yet the depth chart still feels thin in the one area that can change a game fast. With Harold Landry III set to miss at least the first month of the season, the pressure on the rest of the rotation only grows, and so does the temptation to look for help wherever it can be found.
One possible answer has already surfaced in a familiar kind of roster gamble, the sort that looks better in theory than in practice. Clelin Ferrell, who has bounced around multiple teams and was most recently on the Miami Dolphins practice squad, would be more of a depth dart than a real fix, and theres a reason the fit comes with skepticism. Even so, with the trade deadline still ahead, New England may have to decide whether to live with the current pass-rush mix or make a move that carries more upside than certainty. [Read more 🡒]