Patriots Training Camp Positional Battle Preview: Offensive Line
There have been many storylines for the New England Patriots on the offensive line this offseason. Starting with the loss of Dante Scarnecchia as offensive line coach, then losing Ted Karras to the Miami Dolphins, and then the team franchise tagging Joe Thuney. All later followed by the return of David Andrews, the drafting of several new rookie lineman, and the recent opt-out of Marcus Cannon.
Needless to say, the offseason has been a whirlwind for the Patriots' offensive line. The loss of Scarnecchia alone may have been enough to qualify as a whirlwind. So, while the reappearance of Andrews should add some stability to the interior of the line, big questions still exist. For starters, the tackle spots are a big remaining question right now.
Isaiah Wynn - the team's starting left tackle - is now entering his third season in the NFL. However, he still looking to play his first full season. While he has impressed in his time on the field, question marks swirl as to whether he can stay on it.
On the other side at right tackle, a much bigger question mark swirls. A starter has yet to be named, but one can assume that Yodny Cajuste will have a crack at winning the starting job after Cannon opted out. Cajuste, a second-year player that missed his entire rookie season due to injury, has never seen NFL action, and it remains to be seen if he has what it takes to be a starter in the NFL.
Is Cajuste the Answer at Right Tackle?
With rather weak depth behind Cannon, Cajuste may be the most qualified player to replace the veteran at right tackle. He was deemed a potential quality starter during the draft process two drafts ago. Now, he comes off a quad surgery that kept him sidelined last season.
Staying healthy will be key for Cajuste, as he has already withstood several major injuries in his football career. However, staying healthy will not be Cajuste's only challenge this season. In fact, the bigger challenge will be being prepared to start. As mentioned before, Cajuste was deemed a potential quality starter during the draft process, however, he was also deemed a major developmental project by some. A big reason behind that was some he had some less than stellar footwork on his college tape and scrappiness with technique.
So while staying healthy is a big question mark for Cajuste, a far bigger one is whether he is capable of starting in the NFL yet. Cajuste used his monster-like strength to allow only four sacks in 1,125 snaps of his college career. He also only allowed twelve pressures during his college season. Yet, those numbers will be far from the same at the next level when he is facing pass-rushers like Von Miller, Chandler Jones, and Nick Bosa (all of which he could start against this season). With some technical issues at hand for Cajuste, fast veterans like Miller would eat him alive and probably revive some bad Super Bowl memories for Cam Newton.
Cajuste is an unknown right now, which will make him someone to keep an eye out for leading up to the start of the season. The good news is that he is healthy and is a full go for training camp and summer activities. The news we still await is whether he cleaned up some of the issues in his college tape. If the answer is yes, Cajuste should be the starter day one. His job status weighs heavily on the improvements he's made since entering the league last year.
Two Other Potential Solutions
In anticipation of an unprepared Cajuste, the other two starting options would be either Korey Cunningham or Joe Thuney, who would have to make the switch from left guard.
Cunningham is currently in a fight to make the roster, let alone battle for a starting spot against Cajuste. His spotty play in pass protection over his time in Arizona landed him on the bench while Marshall Newhouse was backing up an injured Wynn. Cunningham would be the biggest long shot to start. Maybe even over Thuney moving to tackle from guard.
Thuney has experience at tackle. He plays it well and saw action there last season in the team's season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He stepped in for Cannon in that game after he suffered a left shoulder injury.
Thuney said in an interview last week that he would be receptive to playing right tackle. When asked if he would be open to doing so, Thuney replied "Whatever can help the team. It doesn't matter where." However, whether he would be receptive to the idea is not the issue, the issue is whether he is capable.
Thuney had opportunities to be moved to tackle a couple times recently and throughout his career. When things got a little ugly with Newhouse last season, the team decided to keep Thuney at his left guard spot. Probably figuring that taking an All-Pro guard out of his spot to help play tackle would be creating two issues now. Pulling Thuney from guard would then create a hole at that spot.
While times are slightly different for the Patriots, is it worth it to take Thuney from left guard, place him at right tackle, and then get another player to fill in at left guard? Maybe. But I guess the real answer to the question lies in Cajuste's preparedness. A ready Cajuste starts over a converted left guard to right tackle any day of the week.
The Other Spots and the New Coaching Regime
The only battles players like Wynn, Mason, or Andrews should be facing this season is the battle of staying healthy, along with them and the rest of the group adjusting to the loss of Coach Scarnecchia.
Coaches Cole Popovich and Carmen Bricillo will be taking over the reigns for Scarnecchia. Both have familiarity with Scarnecchia's teachings as both coaches were inside hires for the offensive lineman job. Both have solid experience with coaching the offensive line and should have some promise in developing younger players.
With the interior of the line regaining Andrews, the trio of Mason, Andrews, and Thuney should be rock solid, regardless of whether Scarnecchia is in the picture or not.
Verdict
I believe Cajuste gets the starting job at right tackle. However, I wouldn't rule out him having some real struggles, especially early on. Cajuste is a real hard guy to project right now, but the right tackle job looks to be his job to lose. It's more unlikely that Thuney or Cunningham would get the job than the likelihood of him being an utter and total disaster coming in this summer.
Popovich and Bricillo will aid in Cajuste's development, just as they will try to aid in all the young lineman's development (Patriots currently have six lineman within their first three years in the league). The transition should go smooth and the offensive line should be good.
While I could see some struggles from Cajuste being a possibility on the horizon, the rest of the unit should easily be top five in the league.
