There's change coming to the Patriots running game, and only time will tell as to whether or not that change will complement the team's personnel on the offensive line.
The Patriots were 29th in the NFL last season in yards per rushing attempt (3.3) when running outside zone or stretch run calls, per Sports Info Solutions. They ran just 69 of those types of plays over the course of the season, leading to second-worst-in-the-league mark of 13.5 yards per game on those types of plays.
But under new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, it appears as though the Patriots will be leaning into those types of calls more frequently. Van Pelt hails from the Browns, where head coach Kevin Stefanski -- a disciple of Gary Kubiak, longtime assistant to Mike Shanahan -- implemented his version of a wide-zone rushing attack.
Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye said that he and Van Pelt discussed that type of offense, and how it looked with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, during the course of the pre-draft process. Rhamondre Stevenson has been open about the changing running game in New England as well.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“More outside zone heavy, not just straight gap scheme,” Stevenson said of the new offense this week. “More of a plethora of runs and just different schemes.”
During a meeting with Patriots reporters on Thursday, newly re-signed right tackle Mike Onwenu was open about the plan to shift styles under Van Pelt.
MORE PATRIOTS COVERAGE
"It is a lot of wide-zone and more emphasis on actually stretching the ball, and having the ball go on the outside," Onwenu said. "Whereas last year we were more cut-back, where everything was a lot of cut-back.
"It'll be interesting to see how it plays. It'll probably allow us to finish our blocks and really stay on our blocks, without worrying about the guy falling off or worrying about where the running back is going to go. He's going to make us right."
The Patriots weren't necessarily a dominant gap-running team throughout the course of last season, but they finished the season averaging 4.0 yards per attempt on duo, power and inside-zone runs. They ranked 19th in the NFL in that category, and better than a half-yard per attempt than they were on wide-zone calls.
When the Patriots were at their best in the running game in 2023, they often ran behind Onwenu and then-rookie Sidy Sow, whose power off the snap was apparent in their forceful double-teams that could create room for backs to gain a head of steam before getting to the second level of opposing defenses.
While David Andrews has proven to be a scheme-versatile center, Onwenu and Sow look like a good foundation for a downhill running team based on their strength being... their strength. Even the rookies that have been brought in to New England look like maulers who would fit a gap-running offense.
🔊 Patriots Talk: Devin McCourty on Drake Maye’s development and what he liked about the Patriots' draft | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
Both Caedan Wallace (taken in the third round) and Layden Robinson (fourth round) have yet to take an NFL snap so it's difficult to say how their skill sets will play as pros. But both sound like they could be beat-you-up-in-a-phone-booth types as opposed to rangy athletes in the trenches.
Via The Athletic's Dane Brugler, the following scouting notes are portions of the "strengths" and "weaknesses" section for each player from Brugler's draft guide.
On Wallace: "Flashes violence through engagement and sustains through the whistle... Doesn't have elite range in his lateral movements."
On Robinson: "Matches power with power at the point of attack... Noticeable lack of explosion in his movements."
It's up to Van Pelt to get the scheme to benefit the players available to him, whatever he plans on calling. But Onwenu believes that he and others can execute that which Van Pelt would like to run.
"Definitely," Onwenu said. "At the end of the day, we're all football players. Whatever scheme you put in front of us, we're going to run and we're going to execute. I think whatever they call, the play is going to be ran. And it's going to be ran well."