The latest edition of our Patriots mailbag answers questions about left tackles, the QB room, and more.
The New England Patriots kicked off OTA’s on Monday while mandatory minicamp — which concludes with Tom Brady night inside Gillette Stadium — is quickly approaching in June.
So, as the work intensifies before players break until training camp, let’s get into this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag.
Why did we try to get cute with this plan to turn RTs into LTs (Okorafor and Wallace) instead of just bringing in an actual starting-caliber left tackle? – Matt1102
This is the biggest second-guess of the entire offseason. In their defense, the free agent market was rather bleak. Tyron Smith was an intriguing bridge option but is 33 years old. Jonah Williams would also have to flip back to the left side. Outside of them, not much out there.
The real second guess was during the Draft. While we aren’t blaming them for addressing quarterback and wide receiver with their first two selections, it’s fair to question whether they should have gotten more aggressive to potentially trade up on Day Two when five tackles came off the board from picks 55 through 67. That left New England to pick Caeden Wallace, who was one of the best tackles remaining, at No. 68.
As they now enter the season, it’s frustrating to again have a giant question mark at a major position (especially one that could be tasked with protecting the future of the franchise). It also wasn’t extremely encouraging to hear Chuks Okorafor’s honest assessment of making the switch in which he stressed patience.
The ideal path forward is that the combination of the offensive scheme (which limits the amount of times tackles have to protect on an island) and more mobile and talented QB’s can help make life easier for the line, allowing Okorafor and Wallace to bridge the gap to a top drafted tackle next offseason (Hello, Will Campbell and Kelvin Banks).
Pats will not be carrying 4 qb’s….who’s your best guess to leave the locker room before camp starts….I have my favorite… – Patriotpower
Bailey Zappe is clearly the odd man out. There just isn’t a long-term role for him with the way the team remodeled their QB room. Maye is the future, Brissett is the veteran who can start if needed and Milton is the late-round project.
That leaves Zappe, who also has a varying skillset from the rest of the room, without a role. It’s also part of the reason they should try to cut the QB room down to three by the summer (something Jerod Mayo hinted at during OTA’s). There’s not enough practice reps with all four players present and Maye would benefit from as much work as possible this summer.
Re: the idea of sitting Maye or Wallace for a year…what do you think helps bring a player along better — practicing in the background for a year or getting in game experience right away? – ghosthaus
I’m in the camp that game experience is the most important thing for a young player, especially with the current rules that severely limit practice time. That does not mean blindly throwing a rookie to the wolves, however. If they prove they’re mentally and physically ready and a situation isn’t actively working against them, I’d want to see them play.
As Eliot Wolf noted this offseason, New England should focus more on playing younger players this season with their new draft and develop approach.
I’m curious as to how the veterans are interacting with and accepting Drake? From all accounts, he appears to be putting in the work while also attempting to learn as much as he can during these initial sessions. Has his enthusiasm been embraced by his established teammates? Thanks. – capatriot
We haven’t had the chance to speak with many veterans on their early interactions with Drake since he’s been in the building, but they definitely seem accepting. Captain David Andrews FaceTimed him the day after he was drafted to welcome him and Maye walked up to the field on Day 1 of OTA’s on Monday with other captain Deatrich Wise. Pop Douglas also reached out for Maye’s number shortly after the draft to welcome him.
The 21-year has been praised for his leadership abilities throughout his football career — something his fellow rookies have already noted — so the early positive reviews are no surprise.
Mayo also noted Maye’s work ethic continues to impress behind the scenes.
“I thought Drake did a great job not only progressing on the field, but also off the field,” he said. “You can already tell like he is going to put in that extra work. You know, I walked by the quarterback meeting room, he’s just in there by himself, watching film. Those are the things that you want to see. I am excited to see his growth going forward.”
The expectations for the defensive unit are high. With Judon and Gonzales returning it seems almost a given that the defense will be very good again but isn’t it possible that the absence of one of the greatest defensive coaches of all time will have a major impact?
Will the Patriots continue to be an elite unit on the defensive side of the ball? Or will not having Bill around cause a surprising regression in our ability to slow down opposing offenses? – BirdStealsTheBall
This is the great unknown with the new defensive coaching staff. While Jerod Mayo has plenty of experience playing under Bill Belichick and creating game plans for his defense the past few seasons, you cannot replace Belichick’s football mind. With all the experience Belichick had, the defense had answers for anything an offense presented.
While New England has the defensive talent to continue to be an elite unit and the coaching should still be strong on that side of the ball, they will undoubtedly lose some of their preparation advantage without Belichick. They will have some good tests to compare, however, such as playing an elite quarterback Belichick has always slowed down in Justin Herbert late in the year.
Should we be concerned that the Patriots only have one preseason practice with another team scheduled? New offense, new coaching, lots of competition to evaluate at multiple position groups—will they be ready for a season that starts out with a difficult schedule? – coolbeanz
I wouldn’t be too concerned, especially with a rookie head coach going through his first training camp. New England only held one joint practice session last year (although had two scheduled) and the second day of these practices has just become a fight club in recent years around the league. One day against a good Eagles roster should result in plenty of things to evaluate.
Is Mayo a silver pants devotee? Or do we have to endure another season with a lousy team that also wears horrendous all blue uniforms? – c.lassiter
Not sure how Mayo feels, but the Patriots are (unfortunately) running back the blueberries this season — as shown by Drake Maye’s rookie premiere shoot.
Maye’s got next #RookiePremiere pic.twitter.com/PSoEhdUzHh
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) May 23, 2024
I would expect the silver pants to be worked back into the rotation this year and then New England is free to change the full concept next year as the five-year timeline has expired.
That’s all for this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag. If you have questions you’d liked to be answered next week, submit them online in our weekly submission post or on Twitter using #PostPulpit. Make sure to be following @iambrianhines and @PatsPulpit as well.
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