FOXBORO — The Patriots may need discovered their beginning proper guard of the long run within the fourth spherical of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Rookie Sidy Sow earned the beginning at proper guard rather than Mike Onwenu, who moved to proper deal with, in Sunday’s win over the Bills and thrived. With an 86.4 mark, Sow earned the best single-game PFF grade for a rookie offensive lineman this season.
It would have been tough to foretell Sow getting beginning reps at proper guard as not too long ago as this summer season. He was a left deal with as a freshman in faculty and performed guard in his remaining years at Eastern Michigan, however the 6-foot-5, 318-pound offensive lineman was drafted to play deal with in New England. The Patriots had Sow enjoying proper deal with — even incomes first-team reps — all through coaching camp and the preseason earlier than they received Calvin Anderson again from the non-football sickness listing and bought Vederian Lowe and Tyrone Wheatley Jr. in trades.
When Onwenu and Cole Strange weren’t prepared to start out the season, Sow began at proper guard and fellow rookie Atonio Mafi, a fifth-round choose who was the highest reserve guard all season, began at left guard in Week 1.
Sow has caught at guard ever since, and Onwenu thrived in his return to proper deal with. So, why change factor?
“The move from tackle to guard I think was more comfortable for him than guard to tackle, kind of why we did it that way,” head coach Bill Belichick stated. “Start him at deal with, figured we may transfer him to protect, versus taking a guard and making an attempt to maneuver him out to deal with.
“He’s another guy that has a really good demeanor. Works hard, tough, just tries to do his best at everything you ask him to do, and that’s a good thing. Takes coaching well, obviously is inexperienced, he’s learned a lot. He’s certainly not arrived, or there yet, but making progress every day, works hard, learns from his mistakes. Big kid – strong, tough – but moves pretty well.”
Sow thinks all the transferring round has helped him early in his NFL profession.
“It’s been fun because it’s been giving me a lot of different experiences facing different athletes and especially learning the offense,” Sow stated. “Because it allowed me to not just learn one position like just learning left guard or right guard. It allowed me to understand what we do as a whole line and every single concept. I think that kind of accelerated my learning process of the offense. I enjoyed it.”
The Quebec native stated it took him a few reps to readjust to transferring from deal with to protect, however “the muscle memory of doing it for so long in college kind of helped me a little bit.”
He doesn’t know why the Patriots moved him again from deal with to protect. Why?
“I didn’t really ask,” he stated. “So, I play whatever they want me to play. I don’t really ask questions because I don’t really mind. It’s not something that important to know why I’m doing something. I just want to be there and do it.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com