Sportsnaut
The Patriots did not exactly have stellar play along the offensive line last season. As a result, the team will have a new-look starting unit in 2025 that should bring about immediate improvement.
Rookie first-rounder Will Campbell will start at left tackle, while rookie third-rounder Jared Wilson looks set to start at left guard. Veteran newcomer Garrett Bradbury should start at center, while holdover Mike Onwenu mans right guard and another newcomer, Morgan Moses, handles right tackle.
While the starting unit is close to being set, the backups are a different story. Cole Strange, who previously started for the Patriots, may not even make the team. Demontrey Jacobs, rookie Marcus Bryant, and Vederian Lowe are all battling for the swing tackle spot. Caedan Wallace, Ben Brown, and Tyrese Robinson are among those battling on the interior.
After the first preseason game last Friday night and practices on Sunday and Monday, we can now say there’s a clear favorite standing out to be the backup tackle. Bryant ran with the second-string offense on Sunday and Monday at right tackle, while Lowe manned left tackle.
Bryant played 44 snaps in the preseason opener, with 30 snaps at right tackle and 14 at left. The rookie didn’t allow a sack, and he picked up two pancake blocks. That was an impressive debut for a seventh-round pick, and he may now clearly be ahead of Jacobs in the pecking order.
Bryant played in the first half of the game, while Jacobs got his snaps toward the end of the game. Typically, those playing late into the preseason games are the players whose status on the roster is in question.
“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. He’ll have to play both sides for us, and I think he’s just a young player that is taking the coaching,” Mike Vrabel said of Bryant on Sunday. “I think there’s a lot of good football in front of him.”
Vrabel’s comments certainly seem to indicate that the Patriots like having Bryant around, and it may be too risky to cut him and hope he clears waivers for the practice squad.
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