Patriots considering entirely changing Mike Onwenu’s position this week
FOXBORO — Strap in, we’re about to recap Mike Onwenu’s position switches this season with another one likely on the horizon.
Onwenu began the spring at right tackle before being moved to right guard by the end of minicamp. He practiced at right guard throughout training camp before being moved back to right tackle at the end of the summer due to injuries. Onwenu started Week 1 at right tackle but was moved to right guard in Week 5. That lasted for two games before moving back to right tackle in Week 7. He moved back to right guard in Week 8, began Week 9 at right tackle and moved back to right guard during the first half.
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This week? Now he’s practicing at left guard, a position he hasn’t played since 2021, and the Patriots are considering starting him at the position Sunday against the Bears.
“Mike’s our best offensive lineman so we’re going to put him where he can be successful for us,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said Thursday. “He’s been very versatile. We’ll see what happens this week, but I feel really good about Mike’s play. He needs to be available wherever he needs to be. So if he plays left guard, he plays right guard, he plays right tackle, again, he’s our best offensive lineman. We’re going to put him in an area where we need him.”
Onwenu’s reaction to the switch? “Just gotta practice at it.”
“It is pretty much the opposite,” Onwenu said of the change. “But just body mechanics. As long as I think about it mentally, I should be all right physically.”
Onwenu started the 2021 season as the Patriots’ left guard but got benched for Ted Karras in Week 4. He wound up starting eight games that season split between left guard and right tackle. He exclusively played right guard in 17 starts in 2022 and moved between right guard and right tackle in 15 starts last season.
The 6-foot-3, 350-pound offensive lineman signed a three-year, $57 million contract with the Patriots in free agency this offseason. Through nine games, he currently has the lowest PFF grade of his career with a 66.5 mark.
“I’m not really that happy with how the season’s gone for me, personally,” Onwenu said. “I definitely think I can play better and just be a better player all around. So that’s what I’m looking forward to doing, and really just strapping up for these last couple weeks of the season. …
“My whole game, for real,” Onwenu said when asked what he hasn’t been happy with. “Just feel like I haven’t been as dominant as I’m used to being. Some of that could be the movement, some that could just be mental. So just looking forward to putting better film on tape.”
If Onwenu starts at left guard, then he’d be playing next to Vederian Lowe at left tackle and Ben Brown at center. That would likely leave rookie Layden Robinson at right guard and Demontrey Jacobs at right tackle. It would be the Patriots’ ninth starting offensive line combination in 10 weeks.
Ultimately, Onwenu believes the position switches haven’t taken a major toll on him.
“I would say it hasn’t really been affecting me that much,” Onwenu said. “But I would just say, just in terms of style of play can be better. A lot of moving parts can just change how you play and change how you go about getting into blocks. Obviously, I’m more comfortable on the right side, so I’m used to doing that, but with practice comes with it. So that’s what I’m gonna do.”