Tag: Sidy Sow

Final draft grades round-up for Patriots G Sidy Sow

Did the Patriots hit a home run with the Sidy Sow draft selection? Here’s what media analysts are saying.

The New England Patriots’ decision to take Eastern Michigan offensive guard Sidy Sow with the No. 117 overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft came with mixed reviews.

On one hand, there were people still trying to make sense of the fact that the team appeared to be blatantly neglecting offensive tackle and adding more help at the skilled positions. How was another interior offensive lineman going to help the Patriots keep pace in a crowded AFC East division with some of the league’s most explosive offenses?

It’s no doubt a fair question.

However, on the other hand, some viewed the Sow pick through the lens of the actual player the Patriots were getting on the football field—a large and powerful offensive guard with the size and abilities to kick outside to tackle.

That kind of versatility doesn’t grow on trees, and the Patriots wanted to make use of it in their offensive system. Here’s what media members were saying about the draft pick:

Projected rookie contracts for each of the Patriots’ 2023 draft picks

What the 2023 rookie contracts could look like for the Patriots.

There will be plenty of mouths to feed for the New England Patriots with the team selecting 12 rookies in the 2023 NFL draft.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick worked his way up and down the draft board, accumulating a bevy of picks and cashing in on as many players as possible. The influx of youth should serve as a breath of fresh air for a Patriots team that needed to build depth at multiple positions, most notably cornerback, offensive line and wide receiver.

With the draft now in the rearview, the next objective for the Patriots is signing all 12 of their rookie draft picks to a deal. They’ve already signed former LSU wideout Kayshon Boutte and offensive guard Atonio Mafi to their rookie deals.

However, there are still 10 more players that have yet to put pen to paper. Here’s a look at the projected values of those contracts, via Spotrac.com.

Two Patriots rookies named to All-Draft Pick Team

Two Patriots rookies landed on The Athletic’s All-Draft Pick Team.

The Athletic’s Diante Lee and Nick Baumgardner put together a list of their favorite picks of the 2023 NFL draft and created an All-Draft Pick Team with those players.

Of course, the Patriots had more bites at the apple than most with 12 total draft picks. It ultimately paid off with offensive guard Sidy Sow and linebacker/safety Marte Mapu both being recognized on the list.

Sow, a fourth-round pick, is listed as a guard, but he has the size and experience to swing over to the tackle position if needed. He flew under the radar a bit as an Eastern Michigan lineman, but he clearly has the potential to emerge into a serious contributor for a Patriots team with question marks at the tackle position behind Trent Brown and Riley Reiff.

Meanwhile, Mapu, a third-round draft selection, has the potential to fill the role as a speedy playmaker in the middle of the defense. But don’t mistake his speed for a lack of power. Mapu plays with rare strength for a player that weighs 216 pounds.

The Patriots had a solid draft considering they addressed the offensive line, boosted their defensive unit considerably, reloaded on special teams and took a couple of late fliers on two promising receivers in Kayshon Boutte and Demario Douglas.

Mapu, Sow and the other rookies on the roster will have an opportunity to make the sort of impact that could bring the Patriots’ organization back to relevance.

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2023 NFL draft: RAS scores for every Patriots rookie

How do the RAS scores look for the Patriots’ 2023 NFL draft class?

The New England Patriots entered the 2023 NFL draft with 11 picks and came out with 12 players. It could be seen as a situation of coach Bill Belichick throwing as many darts at the board as possible just to see what sticks.

But make no mistake, these weren’t aimless throws.

In a draft that was heavy on the defensive side of the ball, the Patriots opened up by taking three defenders that could be foundational playmakers of the future for the team. They also addressed the offensive line by adding three interior enforcers, along with taking a flier on two promising receivers for the skilled positions.

They even came away with a kicker and punter in this year’s draft. Belichick checked every box and didn’t let a single pick go to waste. We’ll see if it pays off in the 2023 season.

Today, we’re looking at every Patriots rookie’s Relative Athletic Score (RAS), which is a tool created by Kent Lee Platte that measures a player’s athletic testing to their size, while also taking history into account. The Patriots came away with at least four players with a 9.00 score or higher.

Here’s how the entire 2023 rookie class scored:

Report: Patriots expected to try rookie offensive guard at tackle

The Patriots didn’t draft a tackle, but they reportedly have a plan.

You can always count on coach Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots to have some sort of unorthodox plan.

That appears to be the case along the offensive line after the team drafted three interior linemen and no offensive tackles. The latter was a problematic position for the team last season, and things appear even less certain in 2023 with Isaiah Wynn’s contract up.

Sure, the Patriots signed veteran Riley Reiff to possibly start across from Trent Brown, along with filling depth at the position by re-signing Conor McDermott and adding Calvin Anderson. However, the position clearly needed youth to push the eventual camp competition.

And they might have found it in rookie fourth-round draft pick Sidy Sow, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. The offensive guard out of Eastern Michigan has started at left tackle as a freshman 11 times, and he could be in line for a move back to that position.

Breer wrote:

I’d mentioned the Patriots not addressing their tackle need—there’s a postscript to that one. I know New England was excited to get Sidy Sow from Eastern Michigan, who has been projected as an interior offensive lineman, and who they got with the pick in the fourth round that they picked up for going back from No. 14 to No. 17 (in the Steelers trade) in the first round. My understanding is they’re gonna try Sow at tackle, where he actually played as a true freshman in 2018.

Sow definitely has the size to kick outside of the offensive line at 6-foot-5 and 326 pounds. He’s a powerful blocker that can be downright nasty to face in the trenches.

Reiff has the veteran experience on his side to help the Patriots immediately, but his ceiling is already capped at age 34. Sow is a bit of an unknown that could flourish with the right technique and coaching for years to come.

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Could these draft picks mean the end for Cole Strange at guard?

Is an offensive line shake-up inevitable for the Patriots?

The New England Patriots shocked everyone  at the 2023 NFL draft when selecting not one, not two, but three interior offensive lineman after selecting Cole Strange with a first-round pick back in 2022.

It would be one thing if these picks were in the sixth round and were merely fliers, but they spent real capital in the fourth and fifth rounds to add a center and two guards.

My first reaction to this was to naturally assume they would be depth pieces, but in all honesty, they’re better than depth, and would probably start Year 1 for most teams. So I started to wonder if there was something going on with the Mike Onwenu contract negotiations. Was this is a situation where the Patriots were looking a year out?

I’m all for retaining homegrown talent, and it would be a shock if Onwenu doesn’t stick around after 2023. But the Patriots have been pretty consistent in letting good interior lineman walk, like they did with Ted Karras and Joe Thuney.

Maybe the philosophy is to get ahead of impending free agents entirely, and Onwenu will walk after 2023. I then shifted to thinking that Onwenu would slide to right tackle, but Matt Groh was pretty quick to shut that down.

My next natural progression—and one that makes the most sense—is that the rookie offensive linemen, Atonio Mafi and Sidy Sow, will both compete for the left guard slot, and Cole Strange will kick outside.

That may sound crazy, but let’s take a look at if this is even possible.

A look at Strange’s RAS score as an offensive tackle prospect is a great way to start. This will help us see if he is even remotely capable of doing so.

Strange is on the smaller side, standing at 6-foot-4 and 301 pounds, but he has the composite athletic ability to make up for it with an elite first step, change of direction and agility.

There is a good chance, like he mentioned in exit interviews with the media, he wanted to add some weight in Year 2 to take on power rushers. If Strange were to add 20 pounds to his frame, he would actually score a 9.82u (unofficial) with this year’s tackle prospects.

To put things into perspective, according to RAS, that score is better than Tristan Wirfs and Austin Jackson in 2020, Better than Andre Dillard (whom the Patriots were in on in the free agent period) in 2019 and Penei Sewell in 2021.

Left tackle is actually not a foreign thing to Cole Strange, who has played meaningful snaps at the position in college. He was primarily a guard, but he does have the experience and athletic traits to give the tackle position a shot in camp.

There is a reason the Patriots retained Conor McDermott, added Riley Reiff and Calvin Anderson, drafted two guards and hired Adrian Klemm to coach the offensive line. I think it is all connected to a Cole Strange project.

If the Patriots tried Strange at left tackle and it didn’t work, they still have four capable starters and two backups that could sit a year, while the team decides the future of Onwenu. But if it were to work, the Patriots would have a battle at left guard between Sow and Mafi, while Trent Brown moves to right tackle.

They’d have good depth at both tackle slots.

The Patriots need long-term tackle help, and if Strange does in fact move, I think a lot of Patriot fans would feel differently about the 2022 pick. It’ll be fun to see what training camp looks like for the Patriots’ offensive line, but they have a lot more quality depth than they did last season and better coaching.

Let’s hope it translates to more time in the pocket for Mac Jones and more regular season wins.

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Patriots select Eastern Michigan G Sidy Sow in fourth round

The Patriots took offensive guard Sidy Sow at No. 117 overall.

Boosting the offensive line appears to be the focus for the New England Patriots on Day 3 after taking Eastern Michigan guard Sidy Sow with the No. 117 overall pick.

This selection came after the Patriots selected Troy center Jake Andrews with their first pick in the fourth round.

Sow is a feisty interior lineman that Patriots fans are going to fall in love with early. Nothing comes easy when facing off with the Quebec native, who never backs down from a scrap in the trenches.

That should play into the Patriots’ favor considering they want to get meaner and nastier along the offensive front. But more importantly, they want depth when doing so.

Sow should help in both aspects.

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Eagles related takeaways from Daniel Jeremiah’s 2023 NFL draft conference call

We’re looking at Philadelphia Eagles-related takeaways and observations from Daniel Jeremiah’s 2023 NFL draft conference call

NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah has been in actual war rooms and has some insight into what the Eagles and 31 other teams plan to do next Thursday night.

On Thursday, Jeremiah held a conference call with the media to field questions and provide insight on next week’s NFL draft.

Jeremiah weighed in on several topics in the wide-ranging call, with one week until the first round kicking off in Kansas City. Here are some of the highlights and takeaways from the questions and answers.

5 winners from OL, RB workouts at 2023 NFL combine

On-field workouts at the NFL combine ended Sunday with offensive linemen and running backs. Which players stood out on the last day?

Every team can use an additional offensive lineman or two.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are reportedly working hard to try to keep their starting right tackle Jawaan Taylor from hitting free agency, but other NFL teams aren’t convinced they’ll be able to make it happen.

Either way, the Jaguars — like every other team — would benefit from adding depth up front.

On Sunday, the on-field drills at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine with the fourth and final group of players at Lucas Oil Stadium. With all eyes on offensive linemen and running backs, here are five players who stood out from the pack:

The 2023 scouting combine All-Name Team

Stetson Bennett, Juice Scruggs, Sidy Sow, DeMarvion Overshown, and Habakkuk Baldonado are all part of the 2023 scouting combine All-Name Team.

What’s in a name? Well, some people live up to their names, and others perhaps don’t. In football, you can look at tape of Bronko Nagurski or Mack Strong running the ball, and think that those two men could not have been named anything else. Then, there’s Richie Incognito, who was anything but in his NFL career.

The participating prospects at the 2023 scouting combine aren’t really here to make any sort of All-Name Team; they have bigger and better goals on their minds. But when we see Stetson Bennett, Juice Scruggs, Sidy Sow, DeMarvion Overshown, or Habakkuk Baldonado, we think it’s fun that these young men are about to join an all-time pro football fraternity that includes Fair Hooker, Buzz Nutter, Mac Speedie, Atari Bigby, and Bacarri Rambo.

So, here’s Touchdown Wire’s All-Name Team for the 2023 scouting combine.