[jwplayer 75UB8lUE-XNcErKyb]
When Michael Onwenu was drafted in the sixth-round overall by the New England Patriots, very few anticipated that he would compare to the likes of Joe Burrow, Jerry Jeudy, Tua Tagovailoa, CeeDee Lamb or Clyde Edwards-Hellaire. As a matter of fact, out of Michigan’s four drafted offensive linemen in 2020, Onwenu was the third of four taken in the 2020 NFL Draft, with Cesar Ruiz going in the first-round and Ben Bredeson in the fourth.
However, through three weeks of NFL play, while not all rookies or draftees have played, it’s Onwenu who’s outplayed the 181 players taken before him to this point.
At least, that’s how PFF sees it, as it has Onwenu as the top-graded rookie thus far, ahead of first-rounders such as WR Justin Jefferson from LSU and OT Mekhi Becton of Louisville.
🗣️ Top offensive rookies through Wk 3 pic.twitter.com/VAYVRUGYwy
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 29, 2020
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While the grading, of course, comes from scouting the game film, play-by-play, PFF sees a lot it likes out of Onwenu.
WolverinesWire spoke to Pro Football Focus associate director of content Austin Gayle about why the scouting site is so high on Onwenu, and he shared PFF’s reasoning behind having Big Mike atop its rookie board.
“Michael Onwenu ranks sixth among all guards with at least 75 offensive snaps this season in percentage of positively graded plays, per PFF,” Gayle told WolverinesWire. “He also ranks fourth in terms of negatively graded play rate, an absurd mark for a rookie.
“It’s obvious that Onwenu has dropped his playing weight, and his feet have improved significantly as a result. He’s big guard that can actually move and attack leverages at the second-level.
“New England has struck gold in the trenches again. They continue to show they’re head and shoulders above everyone else when drafting and developing offensive linemen.”
Onwenu got his first start of the season at left guard this past week as the New England Patriots hosted the Las Vegas Raiders. Before that, he was coming in much of the time as an extra lineman on running plays — which the Pats were doing extensively. Ironically, he’s not the first sixth-rounder for New England that’s made a splash in the league, as Tom Brady was notoriously picked at No. 199 overall by the Patriots.
Now that he’s making a name for himself, we certainly can anticipate to see Big Mike get much more play in the pro-ranks in the weeks to come, as he’ll likely become less of a package player and more of an every-down contributor.