The Patriots drafted Jake Andrews, Sidy Sow and Atonio Mafi in this past April’s draft with an eye to the future. Well, the future is now for them and second year offensive lineman Chasen Hines and Andrew Stueber.
None of the young lineman were expected to get as many reps as they have thus far but this is life in the NFL. Training camp is a period of opportunity for young players and they have gotten more opportunities than they thought.
That is because no one expected Trent Brown, Michael Onwenu and Cole Strange to miss as much time as they have. The injuries to the three starters has created more playing time for Andrews, Sow, Mafi, Hines and Stueber. All of them have taken advantage of the extra reps thus far and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by Bill Belichick.
Belichick was asked about Sow, Mafi and Stueber and he shared his thoughts on each player and their development.
In regards to Sow, he said the team saw Sow as a player who could transition from guard to tackle in the NFL. It is why they have been repping him at tackle since they drafted him.
“I think that’s where we’re going to start to work him, where we’ve been working him all the way through the spring. I think he’s made a lot of progress, and keep going.” Belichick added: “ I just feel like that’s the right spot for us. That’s why we’re putting him there, but he played tackle in college his freshman year, then he played left tackle in the all-star game. So, he’s played a little bit of tackle.“
As for Mafi, Belichick was very complementary of him comparing him to Bill Murray in that he has only played one season as an offensive lineman.
“Another guy that, similar to Bill Murray, has only been playing offense for a short amount of time, converted defensive lineman. Obviously played a whole year at UCLA on offense, but in terms of long-term experience, he has less than a lot of other players. But yeah, he’s a smart kid, well coached at UCLA obviously with Chip [Kelly]. He’s doing fine.”
Belichick also praised Stueber. The second year tackle and Connecticut native missed all of last season due to injury. Belichick has been impressed with how Stueber performed thus far this off-season and in camp.
“He’s like 50 times further along than where he was last year. He got hurt before we even got to rookie minicamp and basically missed the entire season, as you said, other than a few practices at the end of the year. He’s had a full offseason. He’s good to go; it’s good to have him out here.” Beluchick continued: “He gets better every day. He really missed a full year of football, but the reps and the training, he’s kind of rebuilt his body a little bit. He’s definitely improved in that area, strength, overall conditioning, body composition, all that.”
Stueber repped at left tackle today. Those extra reps will benefit him because he has the size and athleticism necessary to play both offensive tackle spots. Belichick talked about Stueber taking advantage of his opportunities.
”He was a good football player at Michigan, and he’s gotten a lot of reps out here and he’s done well with them. It’s good to have him. We’ll see how he develops. It’s like having an extra draft choice.”
The Patriots have a lot of question marks when it comes to the offensive line both in the short and long term. Getting Onwenu, Strange and Brown healthy will be vitally important to the team’s success this season.
It is equally as important to get these young offensive lineman reps. While it might not be under ideal circumstances, gettimg them reps now will be beneficial to their long term growth as players.