The Patriots‘ O-line has been in the spotlight all season—and not for a good reason. And now? Well, don’t be surprised if they stay a hot topic all offseason too. You see, the Patriots have had a train wreck of a season, and the significant factor in their struggles was their O-line performance. Sure, the rookie QB, Drake Maye, had a notable season, but still, their pass protection led to a high-pressure rate on Maye. The result?

Well, their O-line ranked 30th as per the Pro Football Reference, averaging just 17.0 points per game. Now, this coming offseason, the Patriots got a fourth overall pick in the draft. And surely, they’d want to fix the offensive positions that plagued their season. But here’s the kicker: the legendary Patriots coach Dante Scarnecchia doesn’t think the team should take an offensive lineman at 4th overall.

Now, that’s ironic, considering Scarnecchia had been an offensive line and assistant coach who served the Patriots for 34 years. You see, Scarnecchia believes that if he’s taking a fourth-overall pick in the NFL draft, then he’d surely pick someone who can sack a QB over an offensive lineman. “But me personally, I’m kind of an old-school guy, you know? I’ve heard the saying that if I’m taking a guy with the fourth pick in the draft, I’m taking a guy who can sack the quarterback or score touchdowns,” he remarked. “I think I would take a guy that can do those things over an offensive lineman.”

Translation: Scarnecchia’s putting the O-line on a second option for the 2025 NFL draft. The reason? Well, you can say that his statement isn’t without merit. The Patriots’ defense struggled significantly and contributed to their embarrassing performance. For starters, they had one of the worst seasons if we talked about how many points were allowed. With 417 points throughout the season, with an average of 24.5 per game, they ranked 22nd in the league.

And that wasn’t all. You see, their pass rush and run defense were terrible. The reason? Well, they ranked 29th in pressure rate and 28th in rush DVOA. On top of that, they generated the least sacks by a four-man pass rush. That’s pretty much many of the reasons why the legendary Patriots coach wants to pick someone who can sack a QB over an offensive lineman.

But what about Drake Maye’s O-line?

Sure, Dante Scarnecchia’s rooting for the Patriots to go for a defensive lineman, or someone who can sack a QB, to be specific. But what about their O-line? I mean, the Patriots will enter the next season with their second-year QB and they surely wanna have someone reliable by his side. That said, they had to make some tough decisions in the offseason to figure out their major offensive concerns.

Enter Ross Tucker and he’ll tell you how the Patriots can do it. You can say, he’s one of the right choices considering the guy had played for six teams that also include the Patriots. Speaking of which, Tucker believes that to build a strong O-line, the Patriots don’t require some pro bowlers. Long story short: an average player is far better than below average according to him. “I say this all the time: You don’t need to have All-Pro or Pro Bowl guys,” Tucker stated on NBC Sports Boston’s Next Pats Podcast at Super Bowl Radio Row.

He further added, “You just can’t have guys that are below average and are the reason why you lose. If you go back and look at a lot of the Patriots’ good offensive lines, it’s not like they had a bunch of guys that were making the Pro Bowl every year, right? You think about Dan Koppen or Stephen Neal. Matt Light made some Pro Bowls and was a really good player. You just need guys that are good enough. I’d rather have five average offensive linemen than three above-average and two below-average, because with the two below-average guys, you’re going to kind of fall to your weakest link.”

Well, as per the reports, 17 players are expected to hit free agency this off-season. On top of that, the team has $120M in the salary cap to build a solid O-line. That’s pretty enough resources to turn the tables in the next season, right? After all, the six-time Super Bowl champions are looking to bring the Super Bowl to New England.

Besides, the newly appointed head coach is on a quest to reshape the team’s offense. Most notably, Vrabel’s coaching staff hired the former Jaguars‘ HC, Doug Marrone, as their next O-line coach. But here’s the catch. See, Marrone is well known for his old-school coaching style. And let’s be honest, not every player today vibes with that. Now, as the 2024 season has already wrapped up, all eyes will be on the Patriots if they can figure out a strong offense for the young QB, Drake Maye.