Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Deep Dive on the O-Line: Michael Onwenu, Reserve Linemen and Roster Cuts for the 2022 New England Patriots

Episode Date: July 12, 2022

The New England Patriots offensive line will be among the most watched, and potentially most scrutinized areas of the roster heading into the upcoming season. Joining host Mike D’Abate is Thomas ��Murph’ Murphy from E2G Sports, as the duo discuss the potential of Michael Onwenu making a smooth transition to right guard, the Pats’ reserve lineman most likely to make an impact in 2022, and which o-lineman may not make the final roster cut.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-the-new-england/id1140512627 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriots And follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.On Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DaveDownload the Dave app from the App store right now for an Extra Cash account and get up to 500 dollars instantly. For terms and conditions go to dave.com/legal. Instant transfer fees apply. Banking provided by Evolve. Member FDIC.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Big Michael Wayne who makes a big step, reserves make their case, and will your New England Patriots make a surprise cut along the offensive line? All this and more on a deep dive on the O-line. You're about to be locked in to the Locked On Patriots podcast. You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team, every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and welcome to this Monday episode of Locked On Patriots, your daily podcast covering your six-time Super Bowl champions, the New England

Patriots. Of course, Locked On Patriots is a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. And thank you, as always, for making Locked On Patriots your first listen of the day every day. Don't forget, we're free and available on all platforms, including YouTube. So download, subscribe to, and follow, and smash that subscribe button on YouTube. I am your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated.

Reach out to me on the Bird app at MDABATENFL. While you're out there showing some love to the Twitterverse, please be sure to follow the Locked On Patriots account as well at LO underscore Patriots. Pats fans, remember today's episode is brought to you by BetOnline. BetOnline

has you covered this season with more props, more odds, and more than ever before. Bet online where the game starts. Pats fans, your New England Patriots offensive line will be among the most watched, the most potentially the most scrutinized on all of the roster heading into the upcoming season. Ted Karras, Shaq Mason are gone. Two key contributors from last season not on the roster any longer. The Patriots face several questions surrounding this unit. Their primary duty is still to protect the

blind side and the visible side of quarterback Mac Jones. In addition to their personnel losses, team will also be without the service as a former offensive line coach Carmen Brasillo. He's joining Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas. And as such, the Lions coaching duties are expected to fall upon Matt Patricia. Today here on the pod, though, we're going to be keeping it player-centric. We will be doing a deep dive into the coaching staff as we approach the start of training camp on July 26th. So keep a sharp eye out for that one, folks. But today it's going to be a little more player-centric. And joining me on today's episode to break it all down is truly one of our favorites

here on the podcast. The only guest with his very own branded hashtag. That's right, folks. It is hashtag LockedOnMurphMonday. And that means the legendary Connor Murphy, Fisto himself, Thomas Murphy of E2G Sports is here. Thank you for coming to me in friendship today, Don Murph. Thomas Murphy of E2G Sports is here. Thank you for coming to me in friendship today, Don Murph. Always a pleasure, man. Always a pleasure, especially today because we're talking big round people. Absolutely. And what better way to kick

off the week than to talk a little O-line with the O-line guru, my friend. And Murph, the Patriots offensive line is once again going to be led by team captain David Andrews. I wrote a little bit about David last week. Selfless act of being able to put him contract essentially on the line, free up some space for the Patriots, get some of the young talent in the building. One of which is a guy who could end up replacing David in years to come. And that is Cole Strange. A lot of people are saying that even though he's going to be playing the guard position at first, he may have center written all over him,

and this kid may have some of those elements of a bona fide leader in his bones. I had a chance to talk to Rusty Wright, his coach, here on Locked On Patriots and also for Sports Illustrated shortly after Cole was drafted, and he said some of the more glowing things about him that you hear about David Andrews. But Trent Brown, Isaiah Wynn, you know they're going to be the tackle combination.

We differed a little bit a couple of weeks ago on where they may shuffle in, but ultimately I think they both end up in or stay in New England, or will they, folks? Stay tuned. That may not be the case. Murph may have some different ideas on that. So i talked about cole strange obviously but one constant other than andrews in this lineup right now seems to be michael wainu and even that even he has a little bit of uncertainty heading into this year because a little bit of a positional switch a wayne who came off of a

phenomenal rookie season murph allowed a pressure on just 2.9% of all pass protection snaps, fifth out of all league's offensive tackles with a minimum of 200 snaps in 2020. Ueno looked like a true draft steal. Sixth rounder coming in, Michigan, we've heard this before, and really just coming in and really revamping the position that he played in. So everyone expected that sophomore leap into superstardom. It didn't quite happen that way.

He was still effective, but underutilized. He was supposed to be the choice to succeed Joe Tooney at left guard, looked a little uncomfortable there last year. Ultimately, Teddy Karras replaces him in the starting lineup. Mike saw his time reduced from taking 92% of the Patriots' offensive snaps in 2020 to down to 62% in 2021. And a lot of that was as a jumbo tight end lining up on the edge. So here we are, ready for 2022, Murph.

Awenu slotted in at right guard right now. He's going to replace Shaq Mason. Another big shoes to fill for Michael Wainu. I say this is a more comfortable switch for Mike, though. What say you? Is this a bounce back year for Michael Wainu? No, I agree. They're going to put him in his comfort zone,

and we're going to see him back up into the 90 percentile range for snaps. He's somebody that was a bit out of place last year things just didn't click right in his brain and that's why you saw the uh the backslide if you will um the reduced usage if you will um and and i do i expect him to come back really strong this year in a position that he's more comfortable with um with a uh a man on to his right side that actually fits there maybe a little bit better than in years past, where he was having to deal with that hulking behemoth on his right side, who is now going to be on the left side of the line. Yeah, absolutely. you know you know you look at guys like trent brown who really i think can just by their presence yeah revamp the

feel of an offensive line and i think trent does that but mike has the capability of doing that as well it's a massive individual with a gigantic wingspan uh covering him in training camp and getting a chance to see him out there amongst someone like trent brown who really and trent really makes any guy that's standing next to him look like a mere mortal uh with the exception possibly of yourself my friend but uh you know there are there are always um you know ways to go about and to take a look at that but the wingspan really to me is where mike i think can really thrive and look right guard is not a position that's foreign to him this is a position he played regularly at the University of Michigan.

So he's very well adept at being able to play it. I think the fact that he's able to get into position, the fact that he's able to utilize that wingspan, you're very seldom going to get a defender past Michael Wainu when he really spreads and locks in pretty well. And I think he's a lot more athletic than people give him credit for as well yeah good lateral movement and he's got a good step off the ball as well if he needs to step into pass protection if he needs to step into run blocking

i think he can do it there as well so i'm looking for a big year out of mike i think they'll utilize him a lot more as a regular contributor on the offensive line and just like anything else murph online play is really all about repetition if you you continue to take reps, you continue to get into the role that you have, and your role's not changing, I think that only makes things better for him in the long run. No, I agree with you wholeheartedly. And a lot of the things that people don't realize, when you see players flip to another side, it often comes down to who they're going to be playing with, who they're going to be playing next to. It's a cohesiveness that you need throughout the season, from snap one to the last freaking gun. You guys have to work together and work together well, And I think this flip is going to be helping him.

Yeah, I think the flip will help him as well. And look, he's got capable bodies on either side. Right. We're assuming that it may be Trent Brown. We're assuming that it's going to be Isaiah Wynn. Maybe it will be someone else. Who knows? Again, folks, a little foreshadowing there perhaps.

But one of those guys is going to be his battery mate on both sides of the on either side of the ball then you've got strange you've got david andrews holding it down holding down the fort in the middle um and you've got some reserve players as well and that leads us quite nicely into another topic that murph and i are going to discuss today folks reserve options along the line you've heard us discuss a lot of them justin harone yannicka just william sherman for a lot of them. Justin Harone, Yannicka Just, William Sherman. There are a lot of guys on this team that can make an impact without cracking their way into the starting lineup,

which could be a hidden diamond in the rough. Well, Murph and I are going to discuss that in just one moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues. But first, Murph, sports may be in a little bit of a lull. Well, three of the major sports are, although the Red Sox taking two out of four from the Yankees over the weekend definitely takes the sting out of that but in any case folks sports are still all around us and if you want to use your sports fandom to enrich your pocket a little bit do so with our good friends at betonline.net your number one source for all of your betting needs and sports information.

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to learn more about the trends and the action. Bet online where the game starts. Patriots fans, we are once again joined by the legendary Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com, the kind of Murphy Fisto himself. And we've been talking offensive line with the great Don. It is his area of expertise, and we're always glad to have him here on the pod. And Murph, all eyes are going to be on the starters.

There's no question about it. Isaiah Wynn, Michael Wainu, who we talked about in the last segment. We're talking about David Andrews. So many players that I think Patriots fans are going to be eager to see how they perform in camp. But we all know that there's a lot of reserve talent along the line that might be in line to make an impact this season. We've talked about some of these players in the past, whether it be Yannick Ad to Justin her own to the rookies Jason Hines Andrew stuber a lot of talent on this team when you look at this line who do you look at as a potential Diamond in the rough here for the New England Patriots um Cody wrestling very good you know he's a man who's coming here he got plenty of work early on with David Andrews is,

is been somewhat limited this spring. You know, and he's gotten plenty of snaps in. Andrews is working his way back from that soul shoulder surgery. And I really do, man. I think there's a, there's a spot, there's a way there's, there's a path for Roosney to come in and win a job as the latest, you know, he'll be the next undrafted player to make the initial roster. That's a good choice. Now, a lot of people are not, I don't want to say they're sleeping on Rosny because it's a situation where he's coming in as an undrafted rookie. You know, not a lot. And the Patriots did spend three of their draft capital pieces to draft offensive linemen, whether it be Cole Strange, whether it be Chase Nines, whether it be Andrew Stuber. We still haven't seen these guys show up yet on the field, especially Stuber.

And that leads me to believe that there might be a red shirt in his future. So, you know, nothing's been discussed yet that's not inside information folks that's purely speculation at this point i think we'll know a little more next week when rookies report on the 19th of july that'll give a little bit of a telltale sign as to what these guys are capable of but at the same time you look at someone like rusney and yeah there is there's a lot to like there uh definite size speed agility and also the ability to provide that protection and I like him as well and I'm just a little biased just a little biased with the center position I really am and but but I like what this kid brings

to the table I like the work ethic that he's shown to this point as Mike said we haven't seen a lot of these other guys on the field. This is a man that we've seen on the field, you know, by hook or by crook. And, you know, he's out there. He's working hard. He's getting reps with the number one team. No matter how it happens, people, somebody's got to be there. And this kid has been there.

Yeah, absolutely. He definitely has been there. And, you know, that's something that is such an important part when you look at previous resume, when you look at previous experience, it's so important for an offensive lineman. One guy that I have my eye on, and I want to give our credit to the Countess of Plaza herself. I took my cap there, who really, you know, kind of made a great argument for this gentleman last week here on Locked On Patriots.

And that's Drew Desjardins, who came in from the CFL, you know, Canadian born, Canadian bred, you know, selected fourth overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He helped the team win consecutive Grey Cups, which is their equivalent of the Super Bowl in the CFL. He was a Western All-star during his second season 32 games for the blue bombers started all 14 games at left guard in 2021 allowed winnipeg and really was the key in making winnipeg's line allow the fewest sacks in the league now i understand it's a cfl i understand the nfl the competition level is different i do understand understand that. But at the same time, these are football players. These are professional football players.

So you're going against talent. You're going against guys that have been able to play this game at the pro level at some point. So I'm looking forward to seeing what this kid can do, whether he's going to be a diamond in the rough or not. I think that's an argument that really can and will be made within the coming days but he's someone i'm looking to and i think he may surprise some people this uh this training camp in terms of what he's able to do i know the patriots were very high

on him according to a couple of people i talked to close to the organization when they first signed him they're very high on him coming in and said that there's a lot that people are missing with this kid in terms of translation from the CFL to the NFL game. I'm looking forward to seeing it on the field. All right. Well, you can, you know, like my mother said, you know, every year at Christmas, it's good to want things and have wishes. This isn't going to happen. It's not going to happen.

I have him cut and on the, you know, he might slip onto the practice squad. There's definitely some movement possibilities there this year with the expanded practice squad list and the call-ups and whatnot. But I don't, I just, I'm sorry, Claire. I'm sorry, Mike. I don't see him making the initial. I really don't. I do believe that they're deep at tackle. Haran and Kajust are the top reserves. Both of them, I think, are going to be able to swing, and they're going to need that versatility with two starting tackles that have had their issues with injuries in the past. And folks, let me tell you, folks, there's a slight calf strain. It's not a slight calf strain when you're 6'7 and weigh 340 pounds.

It's just not. It happens. So, no, I'm sorry. I don't see him making the squat. But, you know, I applaud you guys for your, you know, thumbs up attitude when it comes to this young man. Well, you are the guru when it comes to offensive line. We'll see. We'll see what happens when it comes to training camp

and how these guys are going to stack up. I'm only right 93% of the time. That's a pretty good, I think that's pretty good. I think we'll take that folks. We'll definitely take that winning percentage. I like it. And, you know, at the end of the day, you might be right. But the good thing about it is, is that for us to have a discussion like this, where we're

talking about guys like Drew DeJarlais, we're talking about guys like Cody Rusi, maybe even a William Sherman, who was a draft pick last year out of the University of Colorado, being expendable units along this offensive line says a lot about the depth of talent that you have. These guys are all capable players, and I think they'll all find work in the NFL at some way or some level, even if it's not here in New England. So, you know, that's a good problem to have, and I think the Patriots are counting their blessings rather than their curses in that regard. And, you know, we will see. But I do like your suggestion on Roussi.

I'm definitely going to have my eye on him as well. Right now, folks, do not look at the depth charts and consider that anything. It's really not. They might as well go and do it alphabetically, for Christ's sakes, at this point in time in the year. You just don't know. You can't look at the depth chart and say, oh, he's number two.

That's not really the case. There are other guys that can play that position. Right now, I don't see him as somebody that is going to be able to play multiple spots, and that's just so important on a Bill Belichick roster when he's building. Absolutely. It truly is. And, you know, bottom line, you know, there's only so many slots that can be filled, folks. And speaking of that, that's how we're going to wrap things up today.

We're going to talk about potential players that may find themselves on the cutting room floor or on the trading block. Not everyone on this depth chart as we speak, as we live and breathe today, will be on the final Patriots roster, nor will all of those players be on the practice squad. Some guys are going to be jettisoned, and Murph and I

will discuss our most likely candidates to find themselves out of Foxborough when we wrap up this Monday episode of the Lockdown Patriots podcast but first Murph summer is definitely here the 4th of July has come and gone but don't worry folks there's still plenty of summer left and training camp begins in just under a couple of weeks hard to begin you need the opportunity to get around if you're a local you want to find your way to Foxborough, and if you want to do that, you have to make sure that your ride is in tip-top

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always a privilege when the great Don himself, the legendary Thomas Murphy of E2GSports.com joins me here today, each and every Monday, hashtag LockedOnMurphMonday. And what better way to spend a Monday, Murph? We're talking offensive line. We love it. You love it. We all do.

And, you know, we always like to end on a high note, buddy. We do. We like to end the show on a high note. But today's show, we have to flip the script a little bit because we've been discussing players that we believe will have a positive impact on the line. But as I alluded to coming into the break here, the reality is that there are currently 16 offensive linemen on this roster. Not all of them are going to make that roster. And those that don't make the roster, not all of those players are going to be on the practice squad.

So some of these guys that we've talked about, some of them that we haven't talked about all that much, are not going to be here in New England when the regular season starts. Murph, obviously there are players that we can pick out the names and think about who's going to be likely to be on the cutting room floor. But when you look at this and the roster that's heading into September, which player, in your opinion, is the most likely roster casualty? And do you believe that's going to surprise some people? Yeah, I do believe it's going to surprise some people and this is going to irritate some folks. But I think James Fererencz is on the outside looking in right now. He's going to have to have a monster camp

with some of the people that we've been talking about. Right now I have eight offensive linemen on this team. Brown, Strange, Andrews, Onweyu, Wynn, Justin Horan, Yandy Kajus, and the aforementioned Cody Russe. And I just believe that Ferenz is going to be the surprise cut this year. The other guys, you know, there are more guys that you can squeeze in on the practice squad, those late-round picks and everything like that. We talked about Russe working with the ones, and I think he's going to be a little more versatile than

than some of the other guys but no forensis is is my surprise cut this year go ahead send the hate mail folks well you know it's tough to argue it really really is tough to argue if you're looking at a surprise cut or a surprise jettison from the roster, I think Ferenc would be the guy that would surprise most people. Right. If Darrell Williams or Yasser Durant or even Will Sherman, Arlington Conbright, some of these guys that have not been discussed all that much here on the pod, really not discussed all that much when it comes to national coverage or even local coverage with your New England Patriots,

people are not going to be very surprised by those cuts. You're almost expecting some of these names to go because a lot of them are camp bodies. And they're all solid players. I really think every single one of these guys belongs on an NFL roster somewhere, and I believe they will be. They're getting their opportunity to showcase their talent with the Patriots, probably for other teams.

And that's not necessarily a bad thing. No, it's not. It's not like, oh, you're cutting loose terrible players. No. The Patriots have a wealth of talent here, folks, and that's something we want to be very, very cautious about getting our opinion across. You know, Bill's been caught with his pants down before with injuries and whatnot on the offensive line.

He could keep nine. If it's nine that he keeps, I can see this guy as, as making the squad right now. I just have eight, you know, I have eight because the Patriots are so deep everywhere else and they're looking to run so much. So many give so many different looks on the offensive side of the ball and on the defensive side of the ball that I think he's going to roll the dice that Wynn and Brown are going to stay healthy all year. And as we said before, he's got capable backups. It's just whether or not he's going to have that third guy.

Is there going to be that third guy up? And that's where this cut comes from. Absolutely. And that really leads me quite nicely into a point that i really wanted to make and that is the trade of isaiah win murk we discussed this several times on these airwaves yeah and yeah there is definitely an argument to be made for the patriots can free up a good amount of cap space by doing it um justin her own had a pretty solid mini camp in ota do you look to say okay well you know? Maybe we can get similar production. We throw Trent Brown over at the left side. He's protecting the Max Blind side.

Heron can come in, play right tackle. All of a sudden, you're in business and you've got a lot of cap space in your pocket. But if Trent Brown goes down, then what do you do? If you've already jettisoned Isaiah Wynn, now you're looking at a starting tandem of Justin Heron and Yannicka Just, two very capable players, but I think they're at their best when they know that one of them is going to be that swing option. If Trent Brown goes down and Isaiah Wynn is out and gone from the team, then you're looking at two essential reserves playing a starting role, and that's something you don't want to have happen. That's why i think unless harone comes in and proves that he is a bona fide starter and that's going to really take place in training camp folks i know mini camp gets everyone excited

but training camp is really where you're going to see what these guys are capable of doing if that's the case then i don't see them letting go of Isaiah Wynn anytime soon. Harone is going to have to come in and prove himself beyond what the expectations are. That's it. Beyond what the expectations are. Give a good look when joint practices start to see how this rotation goes out. That's really when things are going to start to shake out. Like Mike said, right now,

this is all speculation. This is what we feel on the outside looking in. We aren't there in the meeting rooms. We aren't there in the back alleys of One Patriot's Place, although tune in later to One Patriot's Place today. And yeah, Sarah Marshall is going to be on. It's going to be a lot of fun. But no, that's when things are really going to come together. When joint practices start and you see that rotation and you see who's slipping in for win here and slipping in for Brown there, who's taking snaps at center, that's really going to give us an idea of what's happening. Right now, this is just gut feeling and me looking at a depth chart, seeing who's the most versatile and who Bill can get the most out of, even for four plays in a game.

Absolutely. And ultimately, folks, I think Murph hits the nail on the head. This is speculation up until this point, but it's educated speculation. But it's educated speculation. it's educated speculation and also it is insight from the guru himself from the very man himself who does an amazing job and murph what can i say i thank you so much for joining me each and every monday here on the pod folks when i tell you check out everything this man does whenever he puts pen to paper e2g sports.com columnist extraordinaire whether it

be covering your patriots of a boston red sox anything and everything boston sports this man always has his finger on the pulse and he's always spot on he's brutally honest but he is brutally right every single time and always check out the great work that he does on one patriots place great podcast my favorite patriots podcast other than this podcast and a Claire perspective as well. Claire, I didn't forget about you, but definitely check that out with another good friend of the program, the great Sarah Marshall joining them today.

Folks, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to make Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Make sure to download, subscribe to and follow Locked On Patriots wherever you get your podcasts. Smash that subscribe button on YouTube, and now

that you've made Locked On Patriots your first listen, make your second listen. The folks over at Locked On NFL, all NFL stories, national stories, they've got you covered, free and available on all podcast platforms as well. On behalf of the legendary Thomas Murphy himself, I'm Mike DeBate.

Folks, stay safe, stay well, continue to be the change that you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you tomorrow right here on Locked on Patriots. Rest in peace, James Kahn. Absolutely. Santino Corleone.