No Place Like Home: Patriots Brown Back At Left Tackle
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FOXBORO — Despite missing eight games in 2021 with a calf injury, New England Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown played in nine regular season games, as well as New England’s playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills.
In total, he was on the field for a combined 553 out of 1169 (47.3%) offensive snaps as the Patriots starting right tackle.
However, in 2022, New England seems to be facilitating a ‘changing of the tackle,’ so to speak.
Starting with mandatory minicamp in June, and continuing through the first day of 2022 training camp practices, Brown has aligned at left tackle, while teammate Isaiah Wynn has slotted in on the right side of the offensive line. The team is still expected to start both Brown and Wynn, along with team captain David Andrews, veteran guard Michael Onwenu and rookie guard Cole Strange.
Seemingly unfazed by the switch, Brown told reporters (following Wednesday's practice) that playing at left tackle “felt like home.”
After all, Brown knows that of which he speaks.
During his first stint with the team (their 2018 Super Bowl championship season), Brown manned the left tackle position for the Pats, more than adequately protecting the blind side of quarterback Tom Brady. After a brief, less-than-stellar stay with the Las Vegas Raiders, New England sent a fifth-round 2022 draft choice to the ‘silver and black’ during the 2021 offseason in exchange for Brown and a 2022 seventh-round selection.
In spite of his injury history, the 6-8, 380-pound right tackle re-signed with the Patriots in March, agreeing with the team on a two-year contract worth up to $22 million.
As such, this season will mark a continuation of Brown’s second tour of duty with the Patriots. When healthy, he is among the league’s top talents at offensive tackle. His return helped to stabilize the line and provided rookie quarterback Mac Jones with greater protection. Jones had his struggles down the stretch. He was less accurate, made more rookie mistakes and had difficulty when defenses were able to adjust to take away his preferred routes and targets, particularly with defensive back blitzes. With Brown in the lineup, Jones’ difficulties were notably mitigated. Brown was also instrumental in fortifying the Pats run protection, simultaneously increasing the output in both ground yardage, and overall offensive yardage.
Though he is one of the more fundamentally sound left tackles in the NFL (when healthy), the positional switch makes sense for Wynn, as well. Despite the occasional breakdown in protection, Wynn performed reasonably well in 2021, making 15 starts during the regular season. He finished fifth on the team’s offensive unit, having taken 915 (82.8 percent) of their snaps. According to Pro Football Focus, Wynn allowed six sacks and five quarterback hits, earning an overall grade of 74.9. He was also flagged for penalties nine times throughout the season.
While he has proven himself to be effective in his role, Wynn has also struggled mightily with injuries throughout his four year career in the NFL. He must also address some of the on-field struggles which caused him some difficulty down the stretch in 2021. At times, he had problems with his initial push out of his stance. He also surrendered his edge a bit more often. Normally an aggressive pass protector, Wynn was a bit slower when positioning himself on schemed pressures. While he is more than capable of righting the ship. However, he must return to his ‘strike first’ approach to protecting the run, as well as stopping pass rushers before they hit their stride. The positional switch may provide Wynn with the fresh start he needs to revitalize his place within the Patriots offensive line.
Ironically, Wynn’s absence from OTAs and minicamp provided the Pats with the chance to explore alternative options, including playing Brown at left tackle and Wynn on the right.
With both players enjoying good health at the moment, a positional swap seems like a strong possibility for 2022.
Perhaps there is an even stronger chance of this change being mutually beneficial.
