Patriots Named Best Landing Spot for High-Upside Free Agent
By Jovan Alford
The New England Patriots didn’t make many blockbuster moves in free agency despite having a lot of cap space. The Pats took the conservative approach, adding low-risk, high-reward players in free agency on both sides of the ball.
New England re-signed its in-house free agents such as offensive lineman Michael Onwenu and safety Kyle Dugger.
It was paramount for the Pats to keep both players in New England, especially Onwenu, as the team wants consistency on the offensive line for whoever is starting at quarterback.
On paper, the Patriots look to have a solid starting offensive line with Onwenu (RT), Sidy Sow (RG), David Andrews (C), Cole Strange (LG), and Chukwuma Okorafor (LT). However, the left side of the Patriots’ offensive line isn’t great with Okorafor and Strange. New England used two draft picks on Caedan Wallace and Layden Robinson.
That said, if the Patriots aren’t comfortable with Wallace or Okorafor, maybe they decide to look in the free-agent market and go after a quality offensive lineman such as David Bakhtiari.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine suggests that the Patriots, along with the New Orleans Saints, and Kansas City Chiefs are the best landing spot for the former Packers offensive lineman.
Ballentine mentioned the numerous injuries that the 32-year-old offensive lineman has dealt with over the last few years. However, when healthy, Bakhtiari is a Pro Bowl offensive lineman and a game-changer.
If Bakhtiari is fully recovered from his knee surgeries, the Pats should reach out, especially if they don’t like what they see from Okorafor or Wallace. At the same time, New England would not be Bakhtiari’s first choice as he likely wants to play for a contender at this point of his career.
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