The Patriots signed the veteran offensive lineman to bolster their offensive tackle depth chart.
On Thursday, the New England Patriots made their first outside addition since the official start of the NFL offseason. Offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor, who started his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers but was released in February, was signed to a yet-to-be-announced contract.
Okorafor is the first domino to fall, and will not be the last one. For now, though, let’s take a closer look at him: his career so far, and what the Patriots can expect from him.
Hard facts
Name: Chukwuma Okorafor
Position: Offensive tackle
Opening day age: 27 (8/8/1997)
Size: 6-foot-6, 320 pounds
Contract status: TBD
Experience
A native of Nigeria, who emigrated to the United States in 2010, Okorafor spent his college career at Western Michigan. He started 39 straight games at left and right tackle over the final three of his four seasons with the Broncos, and was named first-team All-MAC in back-to-back years before making the jump to the NFL in 2018.
A highly-touted prospect, Okorafor was selected 92nd overall by the Steelers in the third round of the draft. And while he began his pro career as a rotational and backup option, who started only four total games between his rookie and sophomore campaigns, he established himself as Pittsburgh’s starting right tackle in Year 3: Okorafor started 50 games over the next three seasons, and even signed a three-year extension in 2022.
However, he eventually lost his job in 2023 and was cut just three months later. When he was let go by the Steelers, in part due to his salary cap impact, he had 79 career games with 61 starts on his résumé.
2023 review
Stats: 14 games (7 starts) | 437 offensive snaps (40.8%) | 11 pressures allowed (2 sacks, 9 hurries), 8 penalties
Season recap: Even though he had led the Steelers in combined offensive snaps over the previous three seasons, and had just signed a new three-year deal the previous offseason, Okorafor’s future with the club became the subject of speculation in the spring of 2023. Pittsburgh, after all, made a draft-day trade with the Patriots to move up the board and acquire Georgia’s Broderick Jones in the first round.
The Steelers drafted Jones to be a future starter at one of their offensive tackle spots, but he began the year on the bench. Instead, the team kept Dan Moore and Okorafor as its left-right tandem. For the latter the season therefore began business as usual.
However, Okorafor lasted only seven more games as Pittsburgh’s starting RT. After he criticized the team’s play selection during a 20-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, he found himself on the bench in favor of Jones. The youngster never looked back once he made his way into the lineup, and the veteran took the field for only 11 more offensive snaps down the stretch (all of them as an eligible third tackle).
While discipline was the official reason for the change, the dynamic at the position — a first-round draft pick sitting behind a serviceable-at-his-best veteran — likely made the decision an easier one for the Steelers’ coaching staff. Fact also is that Okorafor had not done enough to make himself indispensable at right tackle, both in 2023 and before.
As far as his seven starts of his final season in Pittsburgh are concerned, he continued to blend good with bad. On the one hand, he only surrendered 11 total quarterback pressures and was a steady presence at his position, playing all but four snaps until his benching. On the other hand, he was flagged seven times (with an eighth penalty coming later in the season) and also had some problems as a run blocker.
Add it all up, and you can see why Pittsburgh made a move as soon as a chance to do so presented itself. When that change was made, Okorafor’s future with the organization was sealed as well.
Patriots preview
What will be his role? With 2023 starters Trent Brown and Michael Onwenu both headed for unrestricted free agency, the Patriots’ offensive tackle group remains in flux. As the depth chart currently stands, Okorafor would project as a starter at the right tackle position. However, New England likely would prefer having him as a third/swing option who could enter the starting lineup on short notice if need be.
What is his growth potential? Entering his seventh NFL season, Okorafor has pretty much shown what type of player he is: a solid tackle who does the job well enough but does not stand out in any areas either. That said, a change of environment especially following his difficult exit from Pittsburgh could serve as revitalizing force for the 26-year-old.
Does he have positional versatility? Even though a vast majority of his career snaps have come at right tackle, Okorafor has experience playing on the left side as well — something he did in college and at times in preseason. In addition, as noted above, he also was used as a tackle eligible on occasion and also has some special teams experience as a blocker on field goal and extra points.
What does it mean for New England’s salary cap? The terms of Okorafor’s contract are not yet available, but the fact that he remained on the market for almost three weeks might suggest teams were hesitant to pay him top dollar. We do know that his minimum salary would be $1.125 million, meaning that he will qualify for Top-51 status regardless of the type of deal he has signed.
What does it mean for New England’s draft outlook? One of the Patriots’ biggest issues at offensive tackle is a lack of perspective; the team has no young and promising developmental options at the position. Okorafor also does not fall into this category, even though he is only 26. As a result, New England adding another OT fairly early in the draft continues to look like a safe bet — one that does not change with Okorafor now being on the roster.
How safe is his roster spot? Once the contract details are out, this question can be answered in a serious fashion. Until then, we can only make educated guesses based on the information we do have available. And they point toward him not being a lock to make the team, but in a solid position if he can establish himself as a trustworthy No. 3 tackle.
One-sentence verdict: Okorafor may not be a “sexy” signing but adding him to the mix helps raise the Patriots’ floor at offensive tackle.
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