Patriots
Onwenu is confident he could play center if needed if the Patriots needed him.
Mike Onwenu has been a reliable part of the Patriots’ offensive line at multiple positions over the past four seasons. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
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During training camp and the two weeks of preseason, the Patriots’ offensive line has been one of the team’s weak points.
The lack of a true solid left tackle is the main reason, as well as the inconsistency in which five linemen represent the first team – and what position on the line they play.
Within the carousel, Mike Onwenu is trying to prove that his reliability can extend from one position to another. Already, during his short stint in New England, Onwenu distinguished himself as both a right guard and right tackle.
This preseason, he’s done a bit of both. And Saturday, he reiterated his confidence to play anywhere on the line, even at a position he’s never played before: center.
“I’m sure I could,” Onwenu said when asked if he’s ever played center. “I’ve never done it before, but I know how to snap and everything. So, I’m sure. … Every year in the summer, I practice snaps, just in case. It’s kind of a last-ditch thing.”
Fortunately for Onwenu, the center position is one of the few spots on the Patriots’ offensive line that is already solid. Eight-year NFL veteran David Andrews will take over those duties again in 2024.
As for the line as a unit, Onwenu knows it’s still a work in progress. The 2023 Patriots had one of the worst offensive line groups in the NFL, and despite all the work Eliot Wolf and New England did to rebuild in the first year after Bill Belichick, the offensive line hasn’t been substantially improved.
The Patriots drafted Chukwuma Okorafor and selected Caedan Wallace, but both are primarily right tackles — or at least they were until this offseason. Vederian Lowe has played a lot at left tackle, but still lacks consistency as the preseason winds down.
Onwenu, however, trusts the group accompanying him to take the necessary steps in practice to improve as a unit.
“Every day has been good, some days we have regressed, but every day is a day for us to try new things, improve and compete,” Onwenu said. “It was more our technique or our own individual thing that happened than the fact that we got beaten by the opponent.”
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