Patriots Rookie OT Earns Preseason Start, HC's Trust

FOXBORO, MA. — One of the more intriguing position battles of the New England Patriots preseason is who will emerge as the team's top swing tackle. One prime candidate that's found his way near the top of the list is Missouri rookie Marcus Bryant.

In Friday's 48-18 win over the Washington Commanders, head coach Mike Vrabel rolled out a starting offensive lineup that included multiple entrenched starters. At right tackle though was Bryant, who was selected by New England with the 220th overall pick in this year's draft.

When Vrabel spoke to reporters before the team's training camp session on Sunday, he praised Bryant's ability to continually get better.

"I think he earned it. I think that when they switched over and he had some snaps on the left at the beginning of the training camp, I think moving him over to the right, I thought he did well, especially in the joint practices, earned that opportunity and continues to improve," Vrabel said. "He'll have to play both sides for us, and I think he's just a young player that is taking the coaching and was one of the players I remember when we first put pads on had really high pad level. We talked about it, we coached it, we showed him, and I think that has improved."

Bryant put together a productive, five-year collegiate career split between SMU and Missouri. During that time, the 23-year-old tackle started in 42 of 55 games. allowing just 12 hits over 3,236 total snaps played. Bryant's big frame and talent earned him a spot on the All-AAC First Team this past winter.

Bryant has been competing with fellow young tackles Caedan Wallace, Demontrey Jacobs, Vederian Lowe and rookie guard-turned-tackle Jack Conley for one of the offensive line's reserve spots. Throughout the summer, once likely starter Morgan Moses leaves practice, the first one to replace him is usually Bryant.

May 9, 2025; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots offensive tackle Marcus Bryant (52) practices during rookie camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

In his first preseason action, Bryant played 30 snaps at right tackle, then moved over the play 14 snaps at left tackle. While he did allow two pressures and had a penalty, he did pancake his defender twice in a very promising performance.

"I thought operationally, we were pretty good," Vrabel said postgame on Friday. "Felt like everybody was on the same page in substitution and getting in and out of the huddle. And they don’t huddle. They sub, and sometimes they stand over it, and sometimes they don’t. So, I felt like defensively, that was a good challenge for us to be able to play a game like that with a team that really doesn’t want to huddle."

Bryant did leave Sunday's practice early with a member of the training staff. That's been the one blemish on a surprisingly-great summer for the rookie.

"That's all we ask of the players, is that each day they continue to improve and focus on improving," Vrabel said. "So, I kind of liked Marcus. He's kind of a happy, lucky-go kid, and I think there's a lot of good football in front of him."

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