Pats Pulpit
The signs were already pointing in that direction, but on Friday head coach Mike Vrabel made it official: the New England Patriots are going to start a pair of rookies along their offensive line on Sunday versus the Las Vegas Raiders.
Besides first-round draft pick Will Campbell, who is expected to line up at left tackle despite being listed as questionable for the contest with an ankle injury, the Patriots will also have third-round selection Jared Wilson in their starting lineup. Wilson will fill the left guard spot next to Campbell.
“He’s worked hard and competed,” Vrabel said about Wilson. “We’re going to end up playing different combinations of guys, but Jared will be there Sunday. Other guys will be ready to go in there. I think the more he plays, the better he’ll get and improve and work and figure out the tricks of the trade as he goes along.”
The Patriots relying heavily on rookie contributors along the offensive line is unusual but nothing new. You only need to go back one opening day to find a recent example, at least for one first-year player being in the lineup.
Fourth-round pick Layden Robinson began the 2024 season as New England’s right guard and ended up starting 11 games in his first NFL season. Making the jump from college to the NFL, Robinson, who currently resides on the New England injured reserve list, experienced his fair share of growing pains.
Vrabel knows that neither Campbell nor Wilson are immune to those. However, the goal would be to be mindful of that and find a way to still stay on course even in the face of potential adversity.
“There will be things that they do really well. There are things that they are seeing, and that’s part of playing young guys,” Vrabel said. “I want them to have fun. I want them to enjoy it and understand that mistakes are going to happen. We’ll just pick it up, and we’ll move on and get back to center and go play the next play and not worry about it being perfect. Just focus on being precise.”
