The latest edition of our Patriots mailbag answers questions about the left guard spot, Keion White and more.
The offseason program is officially complete for the New England Patriots as they wrapped up mandatory minicamp this week. Players will now be off until late July when they return for training camp.
So let’s talk about it all and get right into this week’s #PostPulpit Mailbag.
What does Wes Schweitzer retiring mean for the Guard depth going forward? – mathblaster97
The left guard position went from a massive question mark to a massive question mark following the retirement of Schweitzer, who repped along the top offensive line at points this offseason. Where things stand now, Cole Strange appears to be the frontrunner for the starting job.
As for the depth, New England has options with Sidy Sow, Tyrese Robinson, Layden Robinson, and UDFA Jack Conley on the roster. The team could also look at rookie center Jared Wilson (assuming he does not win the starting center job from Garrett Bradbury) and tackle Caedan Wallace, who started to take snaps at the position late this spring.
Among the depth options, we’d put Sow and Conley, who has four position versatility up front, among the favorites but would not sleep on Wallace potentially making a push. He’s a powerful player that many thought would benefit moving inside anyway prior to last year’s draft.
The left guard position will remain among the top storylines to watch entering camp and critiques of how they handled the spot this offseason remain fair.
What’s the scuttlebutt on the center competition? – phal3123
There hasn’t been any competition this spring as Jared Wilson has been limited for unknown reasons. That has led to Garrett Bradbury leading the way at center. I’m still not sold with Bradbury as the answer after his struggles in pass protection last season — and then watching Keion White beat him up the middle on Tuesday leading to an interception downfield. I am a fan of Wilson, but the rookie missing the spring will likely put him behind the eight ball this summer.
Question about Keion White. Clearly physically talented but a classic tweener, a trait Belichick loved but most coaches do not. He says he prefers playing inside but is presently slotted outside. What are your thoughts about the best way to use him and his potential in the Vrabel system that does not appear to play to his strengths? – maxiedp
Speaking of Keion, I think he has the chance to breakout this season in a defense that fits him well. While he has been more productive rushing inside rather than outside, the new attacking defensive scheme will allow him to be more aggressive along the edge.
He alluded to that following minicamp: “I can be a little bit less conservative and be more aggressive on the edge.”
That should lead to more production along the edge, where he also has been in more three-point stances over the tackle rather than standing up along the outside. White also will still be used inside at times with Christian Barmore and Milton Williams having the ability to bump outside.
Over under on Keion White with 10 sacks? – Weareeverywhere
While we are all in on a Keion breakout, that is a lot of sacks. We’ll go under.
Any idea when Ja’Lynn Polk can trend not limited? I know it’s early in 2025…but I am getting some NKeal and Tyquan vibes with him. Seems like having a hideous year one followed by a slow start to year two isn’t the recipe for a turnaround on this team. – ghosthaus
Polk, alongside Stefon Diggs, was putting in work on the opposite field running routes while the team came together for more full-speed 11-on-11 periods. But, you’d definitely prefer him to be apart of team work and catching passes from Drake Maye. Based off how he looked I would imagine he’s full-go for the start of training camp — which was Mike Vrabel’s goal.
“Just trying to be careful and not have any issues. He had a shoulder procedure in the offseason. At this point in time, I really would just like to get to training camp,” the coach said Tuesday.
“I think we’ve figured out how to practice early on. You can clearly see that there’s different speeds in how we practice. Early on, maybe that jog-through was a little faster than what it needed to be. So, I just wanted to be careful that they can let him get his looks and operate and function, but just be mindful that this player’s working with something.”
Maybe I am the only one, but I really see a lot of potential in Mapu from college tape to first 2 years here. He has great size and athleticism to move into a small cover linebacker (I never really thought SAF was his best fit). Also already has extensive experience on ST as well. I know he has been taking some reps there this spring finally, but just not much talk of how that could be such a good transition for him and his skill set and fit in our new D scheme. Could Tavai going down, finally mean the chance he needs to shine? – jordsmith87
It was nice to see Marte Mapu apart of the linebackers during the spring — and the 25-year old is now officially listed as a linebacker on the team site. Mapu does fit the mold within this defense as they try to get more athletic along the second level but he must stay healthy. For the third straight offseason Mapu was limited which was extra disappointing after the door for more snaps opened with Tavai going down. Hopefully he is ready to go entering camp.
As far as the UDFA’s go, which players do you see having a realistic chance of making the 53-Man Roster? – HWR1176
Is it reasonable to think that the 53 man roster would include 4 running backs, 6 receivers, a fullback, and 3 tight ends? – coolbeanz
There is a handful of UDFAs who have a chance/already trending towards a roster spot. We’d put that group as: WR Efton Chism, RB Lan Larison, FB Brock Lampe, TE C.J. Dippre, OL Jack Conley, and DL Elijah Ponder as more of a dark horse. Many of those would factor into the positions listed above.
Lucky for you guys, we have a fresh 53-man roster projection based off the spring you can read here.
Who do you think are the standouts of the mandatory minicamps? Are they roughly the same as the OTAs, or did anyone new stand out to you? – Sportzballer
Minicamp follows the same structure as OTAs so not much different. Among the two days, the pressure forced by the defensive line picked up while Pop Douglas had a strong showing for the offense (as he did all spring).
Our entire winners and losers of the offseason program can also be found here.
That’s all for this week’s #PostPulpit mailbag. If you have questions you’d liked to be answered next week, submit them online in our weekly submission post or on Twitter using #PostPulpit. Make sure to be following @iambrianhines and @PatsPulpit as well.