Tag: Mike Onwenu

Patriots considering position change for OT Mike Onwenu

Could another position change be on the way for Mike Onwenu?

New England Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt indicated that the team is considering moving star tackle Mike Onwenu to left guard if it improves the offensive line situation.

Onwenu has spent the season working in at right tackle and right guard. Moving him to left guard would be his third position change this season. He played left guard in 2021 and struggled at times with his performance.

The Patriots have had consistency issues from the offensive line position as a whole this season. Just last week, Layden Robinson was benched, and Onwenu was moved to the guard spot.

The situation obviously isn’t ideal if the Patriots are looking to move Onwenu to left guard, especially given his struggles in 2021.

Nevertheless, it seems like they are looking to find any sort of successful combination with the offensive line struggling due to inconsistencies and injuries throughout the year.

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Jerod Mayo offers explanation for benching Patriots rookie OL

Jerod Mayo shares reason for benching rookie G Layden Robinson

New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo explained his decision to bench rookie Layden Robinson and move tackle Mike Onwenu back to right guard against the Tennessee Titans.

Robinson originally started the game, which put him in a head-to-head matchup with Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, who recorded five tackles and a sack on the afternoon.

“Well, Mike ended up kicking in to guard. We felt like we needed to match up with one of their best players,” said Mayo, via the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed.” Again, when you watch the film, you’re going to see the interior of the pocket at times was soft. And I thought putting our best player in there was the best thing to do for the team.”

The Patriots’ in-game coaching decisions have been perplexing at times this season. It’ll be worth monitoring to see how they approach the offensive line situation against a tough Chicago Bears defense in Week 10.

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Patriots OL coach admits Mike Onwenu playing at tackle isn’t ideal

In a perfect world, the Patriots wouldn’t be playing Mike Onwenu at tackle

Patriots offensive line coach Scott Peters admitted the team would like to put Mike Onwenu back at the right guard position.

Onwenu currently plays at the tackle position for New England. The team practiced with him at guard in training camp, but due to struggles along the offensive front, they ultimately decided to keep him at tackle.

Onwenu returning to guard would be an ideal scenario for the Patriots, as he broke into the NFL in 2020 playing at the position. He has served at a variety of roles on the line during his time with the Patriots, including left and right tackle. He was the starting right tackle for the 2023 campaign.

“In a perfect world, Mike is a guard – really physically,” Peters said, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “He can play tackle. He’s a rare athlete that way that can move. But if you had your way, you’d like to see Mike at guard, just with the power inside and keeping the pocket firm there.

“He understands that and wears a lot of hats. But you want him to be able to really dig into something and in a perfect world you like to see him at guard.”

Onwenu can play multiple positions, but his best production has clearly come when he’s playing at guard. However, the Patriots will need to see tackle upgrades for a move back to that position to make sense.

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Mike Onwenu has hilarious answer to positional switch question

Mike Onwenu comments on playing both guard and tackle

New England Patriots offensive lineman Mike Onwenu could be in line to make a positional switch for the start of the season.

He was believed to be playing at right tackle, but throughout the spring, he was seen working in at right guard. That switch continued in training camp as well. While Onwenu is comfortable playing at either guard or tackle, he isn’t exactly sure what his position is ahead of the season.

When speaking with media members, he joked that finding out “before a game day would probably be nice.” He also noted that he was “a little surprised” when the Patriots asked him to take reps at guard.

Onwenu has been a dependable lineman for the Patriots throughout his NFL career. He has appeared in 64 total games with 56 starts.

Onwenu’s versatility is something that will be an asset for the Patriots, as they look to rework a struggling offensive line. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the team continue experimenting with him at both spots before eventually settling on a position.

Patriots OL Mike Onwenu wants to ‘pick brains’ at Tom Brady ceremony

Mike Onwenu is looking forward to the Tom Brady ceremony

Mike Onwenu will be one of many past and current New England Patriots players looking forward to Wednesday’s Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Tom Brady.

But it won’t just be fun and festivities for the Patriots’ starting offensive tackle. He also plans on using the gathering of some of the best players in franchise history to pick up extra knowledge.

“It’s gonna be dope. A lot of old guys coming in. There’s gonna be a lot of new faces and a lot of old faces, so it’ll be good to talk to them and just pick their brains, and see Tom for sure,” said Onwenu.

Onwenu, who was drafted in 2020, just missed his chance of playing with the legendary quarterback. Brady left New England following the 2019 season and finished the rest of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The retirement ceremony will be a star-studded event with more than 200 of Brady’s former teammates, coaches and celebrity guests in attendance. Coach Bill Belichick will also be returning to Foxboro for the first time since splitting with the team in January.

If there was ever a time for Onwenu to learn from the greats, the Brady ceremony might be a good opportunity to do so.

Mike Onwenu comments on positional plans for him in 2024

Mike Onwenu expects to stay at right tackle in 2024

New England Patriots offensive lineman Mike Onwenu, who spoke with media members on Thursday, still expects to be playing right tackle in the 2024 season.

This is certainly a good development for the offensive line, as Onwenu has become one of the best right tackles in all of football. He did show his versatility as well last season, as he had four starts at right guard to begin the year. He made the 11 other starts at the right tackle position.

This could open the door for rookie Caedan Wallace or Chuks Okorafor at the left tackle spot. Wallace was drafted by the Patriots in the third round with the 68th overall pick, while Okorafor was signed as a free agent in March.

“Throughout the whole process, we spoke about me playing tackle. Even after I signed, that was still the same thing. So, under my notion, I’m playing right tackle,” Onwenu said.

New England will be looking to find stability on an offensive line that allowed 48 sacks in 2023. It sounds like things are taking shape in that regard.

Here’s what position Patriots OL Mike Onwenu is expected to play moving forward

Guard or tackle? What position will Patriots OL Mike Onwenu play in 2024?

New England Patriots offensive lineman Michael Onwenu signed a three-year, $57 million deal to return to the team that drafted him. However, some have wondered what position he could potentially play considering he has worked in at both tackle and guard for the team.

Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Onwenu is expected to be the Patriots’ starting right tackle moving forward.

Onwenu has been a fixture on the New England offensive line ever since he was drafted by the organization in 2020. His ability to compete at both the tackle and guard spots has made him invaluable for the Patriots’ struggling offense.

But now, it appears he’s officially locking in as an NFL offensive tackle.

New England’s offensive line is going to need stability moving forward, particularly if they have a rookie quarterback under center. At the very least, Onwenu’s presence at tackle is half of the puzzle solved for one of the Patriots’ biggest positions of need.

Report: OL Mike Onwenu agrees to new three-year deal with Patriots

The Patriots are expected to keep one of their cornerstone offensive players

The New England Patriots and versatile offensive lineman Mike Onwenu have agreed on a new three-year, $57 million contract, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

When the team struggled last season, Onwenu took some of the pressure off the offensive line due to his ability to work in as both a guard and tackle. Losing him and Trent Brown, who is also a free agent, would have been devastating to an offensive front that struggled throughout the 2023 season.

Onwenu is still much better at the guard position, but his ability to take up right tackle, which he could obviously improve at in 2024, is a heavy weight lifted off the Patriots.

They’ll likely continue to look at free agency and obviously the 2024 NFL draft in an effort to rebuild the offensive line. They started the process last week by agreeing on a deal with former Pittsburgh Steelers starting offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor.

For now, they should consider it a major win on reaching a new agreement with Onwenu, who certainly earned his pay raise.

2024 NFL Free agency: The most underrated offensive players

2024 NFL Free agency: The most underrated offensive players (via @NFL_DougFarrar):

When the new league year begins at 4:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, March 13, the NFL’s legal tampering period will already have gone on for two days, and several top-tier free agents will be off the market… hypothetically, of course.

There are multiple levels to free agency, of course. The big names and best players are generally picked off as quickly as possible, and then, it’s musical chairs for the best of the rest — and this where smart teams will have their eyes on the ideal value guys who can come in without a great deal of fanfare and solidify positions of need.

These are the players we’re choosing to focus on here. These players are not at the top of most free-agent list for the 2024 league year, but make no mistake — they can be key contributors to any team they’re on.

We’ll begin with the most underrated impending free agents on offense.

FTW predicts Titans sign Mike Onwenu, Xavier McKinney

In an article predicting where each of the top free agents will land, FTW has the Titans signing Mike Onwenu and Xavier McKinney.

Rejoice, Tennessee Titans fans: We are now just days away from the start of free agency. Teams and pending free agents can officially begin negotiating on March 11 and players can start signing on the dotted line on March 13.

The Titans figure to be big players in free agency, as the team currently boasts the third-most cap space in the NFL at $75.4 million, according to Over the Cap.

Christian D’Andrea of For The Win recently predicted where each of the league’s top-25 free agents will sign this offseason. If D’Andrea ends up being correct, Titans fans should be ecstatic.

D’Andrea has the Titans landing two of those players. First, he has the Titans landing the No. 18 free agent in Mike Onwenu, a versatile offensive lineman who has played both guard and tackle for the New England Patriots. The lineman had a stellar 71.5 PFF grade in 2023.

Regarding Onwenu’s fit with the Titans, D’Andrea said the following:

Tennessee needs blocking help that fits with the timeline of its rebuild. The 26-year-old Onwenu makes sense. The Patriot standout can handle multiple roles up front, filling in at either tackle spot or, ideally, pairing with Peter Skoronski to give the Titans one of the best interior blocking combinations in the NFL. That would make life easier for Will Levis, but it would be a godsend to whomever has to fill Derrick Henry’s shoes in 2024.

Per Spotrac, Onwenu is slated to command around $13.6 million on the open market. The Titans could comfortably afford to add the blocker and still have plenty of room left over.

Speaking of having room left over, let’s dive into D’Andrea’s other pick: Xavier McKinney.

McKinney had an exceptional year for the New York Giants in 2023. The defensive back collected 116 tackles, three interceptions, 11 passes defensed and two tackles for loss, earning an elite 87.8 PFF grade for his efforts.

The Titans are expected to add to the secondary this offseason, so McKinney is a logical fit. Regarding the fit, D’Andrea said the following:

Tennessee’s youth movement continues with a 24-year-old safety coming off the most complete season of his career. The Titans have a big hole to fill in their secondary following the trade of Kevin Byard. McKinney can play both deep or in the box and would create some much needed versatility along the team’s last line of defense.

Spotrac places an estimated $10.4 million price tag on the young safety. The expected annual values for both players combined is around $24 million, meaning the Titans would have plenty of space to maneuver after these additions.

It will be interesting to see how the Titans attack free agency and add talent to the roster — the wait is almost over!