The New England Patriots needed to upgrade their offensive line and strengthen the protection around second-year quarterback Drake Maye, which Mike Vrabel has been emphasizing since he became the head coach.
In 2024, the Patriots allowed the eighth-highest pressure rate in the NFL at 23.7 percent, according to Pro Football Reference. They also ranked at the bottom of the league in offensive protection overall, allowing 52 sacks (sixth-most), 151 pressures (ninth-most), and 56 quarterback hits (twelfth-most).
Vrabel didn’t hesitate to improve the offensive line, using the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on left tackle Will Campbell. Vrabel also signed two veteran free agents with some positional versatility, with Garrett Bradbury and an as solid as they come tackle in Morgan Moses.
Also in the Draft, Vrabel landed a highly rated top center in the third round with Jared Wilson and also an experienced left tackle with Marcus Bryant in the seventh round.
In a short amount of time, Vrabel has added eight offensive linemen to the roster, and with most of the same group returning, there’s plenty of depth along the offensive line now heading into training camp and then the season.
The position group that I want to focus on here is the center position. Last season, the starting center to finish the season was Cole Strange for three games. Although it was a small sample size, he did well and improved from week to week in both pass protection and run blocking, according to Pro Football Focus’ Grades.
- Pass Protection: 74.9 (Week 17), 78.8 (Week 18)
- Run Blocking: 37.2 (Week 17), 51.2 (Week 18)
Despite being on the lesser end of run blocking, he still improved and that’s the important part. It’s also what caught the eye of Vrabel when he watched a strip of film from the end of last season and said he was impressed by Strange playing center, which he did for the first time in his career.
“Cole worked hard at center the last couple of weeks of the season, which he did and played there. It was pretty impressive considering he hadn’t spent a bunch of time there. … I think he’ll work on the interior three, but I think to give him an opportunity to compete at center to build off of what he did at the end of last year.”
The newly acquired veteran, Bradbury, has started at center for the Minnesota Vikings for the last six years since 2019, totaling 88 starts in that time. He has the experience that this offensive line has been lacking.
There’s a reason why Minnesota replaced Bradbury and it’s because he’s been on the decline over the past two years. The Vikings were unable to find a trade partner, resulting in just releasing him without getting anything in return.
It's worth mentioning that Bradbury played guard in college, but he’s been a Day 1 starting center since the Vikings drafted him in the first round. Another potential Day 1 starting center could be rookie third round pick, Wilson.
The only concern about Wilson was just his lack of experience, having only started one full year while at Georgia. However, he showcased himself as the most athletic offensive lineman with his marks at the NFL Combine.
- 40-Yard-Dash: 4.84-seconds (1st)
- 10-Yard-Split: 1.72-seconds
- Vertical Jump: 32 inches
- Broad Jump: 9-foot-4-inches
- 20-Yard-Shuttle: 4.56-seconds
Wilson is strong and fast. He could prove to be a guard, but all of his limited experience is at center and that’s where the goal should be for Wilson to play this season and he could do it as soon as Week 1.
So, looking at the offensive line as a whole, there are now three players competing for two starting positions with Strange, Wilson, and Bradbury for the starting center and left guard jobs.
Vrabel was impressed with the limited work Strange had at center last season, but then he signed a longtime veteran starting center when he had the first opportunity to do so. He also drafted a highly rated center in the third round. Even though Vrabel was impressed by Strange, it doesn’t seem like he’s going to be the starting center at this point in time.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Strange slide back to his natural position of left guard to be next to Campbell to strengthen the left side of the line by having two large bodies protecting Maye’s blindside. It would also align with the size of the right side of the line with Morgan Moses and Mike Ownenu.
- LT: Will Campbell, 6’6”, 319 lbs.
- LG: Cole Strange, 6’4”, 310 lbs.
- C: Jared Wilson, 6’3”, 310 lbs
- RG: Mike Ownenu, 6’3”, 350 lbs.
- RT: Morgan Moses, 6’6”, 320 lbs
The big question here is Bradbury. He’s never played any other positions along the offensive line in the NFL and what if Wilson does in fact earn the starting center job right out of training camp? It would be hard to justify signing a veteran to a two-year deal worth $12 million and not have a role for him.
There’s also a possibility of working Wilson out at guard considering how fast and smart he is. He would be able to pick it up quickly and it’s something that he said he would do if the team asks him. Although there’s more competition for the left guard position, it would be two rookies on the left side of the line protecting Maye and that might not be the most ideal situation right now.
However, if Bradbury is unable to convert to guard, he might be the de facto starting center and Wilson will have an opportunity to be the starting guard as that starting position is wide open but with more competition.
There will be more information and clarity as the rest of camp and the offseason progresses, but Vrabel did mention the importance of positional versatility and for anyone that’s playing center to also be able to play the interior three positions as well.
“I would say that any of those three interior positions, probably should know all those. Again, whatever Jared can handle. He’ll be working at center this week, and from what I’ve seen in just a short amount of time, I’m looking forward to seeing that this weekend.
Once we get in here with the rest of the guys and we start to get to OTAs, his ability to play guard, we’ll be able to evaluate. But we don’t want to overload him, but obviously excited about seeing him operate at center and communication, make the calls, quarterback-center enhance, all those things that are critical, especially in a rookie minicamp.”