'Next Joe Thuney': Scouts See All-Pro Potential in Patriots' Cole Strange
Strange.
It's not only the surname of the newest New England Patriots first-round selection, but that was the consensus feel last Thursday night at the NFL Draft when Cole Strange came off the board.
A projected Day 2 selection, Strange instead went 29th overall when the Patriots finally elected to pick after moving down from No. 21. Patriots coach Bill Belichick said that “he wouldn’t have been around much longer” for New England to make the call.
Despite initial criticism from fans and even the Los Angeles Rams brain trust, veteran football voices are far from scoffing at the pick. Some view Strange as a rugged guard. Others think he's a plug-and-play center. Strange should be a Day 1 starter and the replacement for Shaq Mason, whom New England elected to trade this offseason to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Strange isn't Mason 2.0, but he could be another Patriot diamond in the rough if given the time to develop.
"He's just like Joe Thuney," an AFC Scout tells PatriotCountry.com "The way he bulldozes 300-plus pound guards, and it's not based off speed or size. It's technique. He's fluid with his footwork, like Thuney was coming out of college."
Thuney, the Patriots third-round pick in 2016, became a staple of the trenches during his five seasons in Foxborough. He was named a second-team All-Pro for his efforts in 2019 and helps the Pats win a pair of Super Bowls, being the lead pass protector up the middle for Tom Brady.
Those same traits Belichick saw in Thuney, he sees in Strange. And if a player won't be there later on, why risk losing him altogether?
“He’s long, he’s athletic,” Belichick said. “He’s physically tough. He’s an aggressive player. I think he has a good combination of skills, run and pass, movement, length, strength, again, all of which will hopefully get better, like they will with any player coming from college to the National Football League."
New England has been keen on drafting lineman with upside early, but it usually comes on the edge. The Patriots haven't selected a guard in the first round since Logan Mankins in 2005.
Mankins, who played at Fresno State, went on to become a six-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler. Oh, and he also helped the Patriots reach a pair of Super Bowl and finished the No.1 offense during the 2007 undefeated regular season.
Could the Patriots have traded down, gotten more draft capital and still selected Strange? Could New England have traded up into the second round to grab their guy while also adding a defensive player?
Questions such as those can be pondered, but the answer won't be revealed until a year or two down the line. Belichick is betting on Strange's starting experience and consistency to fortify the trenches.
It didn't take long for Thuney to find his footing on the offensive line back in 2016, either.
"If anyone can get the best of out [Strange], it's Bill," the scout said. "He has a knack of finding smaller-school lineman and turning them into All-Pros. People see Chattanooga and think he's falling because of the level of talent. He wasn't going to make it to No. 54."
