Patriots may address OL depth through rookie position shift

Many NFL analysts thought that the New England Patriots would address their offensive tackle depth in the draft this year and that the team failed to do so. New England did draft three offensive linemen at the end of April, but all three have generally been projected as interior linemen.

According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, that may not quite be the case. Breer posits that the Patriots actually have plans to work their fourth-round guard out of Eastern Michigan, Sidy Sow, at tackle. Sow had started 11 games at left tackle as a redshirt freshman for the Eagles before eventually moving to left guard. Sow measured in Indianapolis a 6-foot-5, 323 pounds – he doesn’t quite have elite size –but his frame is plenty big enough to work at tackle.

The Patriots return Trent Brown at left tackle and Conor McDermott, who started six games for New England at the end of the past season. The team signed Riley Reiff to come in and Reiff will likely start at right tackle upcoming. They also also brought in Calvin Anderson, who had occasional starting work for Denver over the past three years. After that mix, the Patriots’ depth is bare. Sow’s presence should help while also providing the versatility to take snaps at guard.

Here are a few more rumors out of New England:

• One of the Patriots’ more underrated offseason additions was that of veteran linebacker Chris Board. In his five year’s in the NFL, Board has advanced from just a special teamer to a core special teamer worthy of snaps on defense with the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions. According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Board was a hot commodity this spring, with several teams showing interest in free agency. New England was reportedly the most aggressive, which makes sense when considering the team’s notable respect for special teams specialists.
• New England made an offseason addition to their front office staff this week, hiring Maya Ana Callender as a scouting assistant with the team, according to Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com. Callender has spent the last few years at Princeton as Director of Football Operations. This is a return to the NFL for Callender who has previous experience with the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.