Patriots Have Massive Need in Critical Area

The New England Patriots have a pretty big hole in this very important area.

Jun 10, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor (77) walks to the practice fields for minicamp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The New England Patriots' offense is a major problem heading into the 2024 NFL season, and one of their biggest areas of concern is along their offensive line.

More specifically, the Patriots have a massive hole at left tackle.

Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski has listed the left side of New England's line as one of the biggest areas of need in the NFL and thinks that the Pats should focus heavily on it in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Currently, free-agent signing Chukwuma Okorafor is slotted in as the Patriots' starting left tackle, but his last 59 starts have all come at right tackle.

Going from the right side of the line to the left side is not exactly an easy move, so it remans to be seen if Okorafor can handle the switch.

The 27-year-old spent the first six seasons of his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers after being selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

The Steelers did try to utilize Okorafor as a left tackle earlier in his career, but it was not successful. New England is hoping to flip the script, but it won't be so simple.

"The fact remains that he hasn't proved he can," Sobleski wrote of Okorafor's ability to play left tackle. "In fact, he opened this year's first two preseason contests on the right side. Clearly, the Patriots don't have long-term plans among their current left tackle options, which likely plays into their entire offensive setup."

The Pats' uncertainty in the trenches is one of the reasons why the team chose to roll with Jacoby Brissett over rookie Drake Maye under center, so this is something the Patriots definitely need to get rectified soon.

Sobleski named Kelvin Banks Jr. (Texas), Will Campbell (LSU) and Aireontae Ersery (Minnesota) as potential solutions in next year's draft class.

Pro Football Network has ranked New England's offensive line 31st in the NFL going into 2024, so this is also not something the Pats will be able to fix overnight.

They can, however, focus on solidifying the most important part of the line at left tackle.

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