The New England Patriots’ revamped offensive line has had its ups and downs through seven weeks of the season, but it’s been starting rookie left guard Jared Wilson who’s struggled more often than not this season.
Over his last four games, Wilson has been charged with nine pressures, four of which came in Week 7 against the Tennessee Titans. I rewatched the film of every offensive snap from Sunday and I noticed that Wilson wasn’t as bad as the numbers suggest, but there were definitely plays that he’d like to have back.
In the first half on Sunday, I thought Wilson did well for the most part. He got outworked by Titans linebacker Jihad Ward (h/t @tkyles39) midway through the first quarter that resulted in a sack. But his effort in the run game allowed for big gains by running back Rhamondre Stevenson, which the Patriots opened the game with four straight run plays for 38 yards.
On this play specifically, center Garrett Bradbury said something to Wilson when they got to the line of scrimmage. But then Maye made an “alert” call during his pre-snap read and with the time winding down on the play clock, Wilson wasn’t able to make the proper adjustment that he needed to before the ball was snapped.
Where I notice Wilson struggling the most is in pass protection, which isn’t ideal when protecting second-year quarterback Drake Maye is the most important element for the offensive line. Maye was sacked four times in Week 7 and most of it was due to Wilson missing his blocks or getting finessed at the line of scrimmage.
Can the Patriots Continue to Trust Rookie LG Jared Wilson?
If Wilson is unable to protect Maye at a consistent rate, it makes him untrustworthy moving forward as Maye is performing as a top quarterback in the NFL this season.
Although he missed Week 4, Wilson has played on 100% of the offensive snaps this season, including Week 7 in Tennessee. It shows that head coach Mike Vrabel is going to allow the rookie to continue to develop and work through his struggles with the logic that he will improve each week to be the contributor that the team needs him to be.
It’s a similar technique to how Vrabel has continued to use Stevenson quite heavily despite his fumbling issues. The only way for him to get better is from getting more in-game experience and allowing him to play through the struggles. It’s something that Vrabel does a great job of as a coach.
Although the numbers show that Wilson has been struggling in certain areas, he didn’t give up a sack on 13 pressures total for the season entering Week 7, which is the best at his position according to Pro Football Focus.
If Vrabel was to go in a different direction with left guard, it would likely be Ben Brown who steps in as the starter. He got the nod when Wilson was out in Week 4 and New England totaled 104 yards on the ground; it was only the third time on the year up to that point of the season.
With the Patriots coasting with a 5-2 record, they’ll have to start considering what is best for the team to propel them to higher heights for this season. If it means turning away from the rookie, we’ll have to see if Vrabel will pull that trigger during the season.
I thought waiting for the bye week would be a good timeline to decide on the all-rookie left side of the offensive line, but Week 14 is too late in the season to make a final decision of that measure.
New England’s next game is hosting the Cleveland Browns in Week 8, which will be another tough test for Wilson going up against a top defense led by Myles Garrett.