The New England Patriots went into the offseason with a clear need to fix their offensive line, and while they did add a few new players to the group, the unit could be better.
In New England's Week 1 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Paycor Stadium, Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown on nearly five yards per attempt, which is partially due to the line's strong performance in the run game.
However, there were issues in pass protection. Chukwuma Okorafor, who got the start at left tackle allowed three pressures on five pass snaps against Trey Hendrickson on Sunday, which led to the veteran's benching. Vederian Lowe entered the game for him but still didn't look great, giving up four pressures on 16 snaps against Hendrickson.
At the two guard spots, with Sidy Sow and Cole Strange both out with injuries, New England started fourth-round pick Layden Robinson on the right side and practice-squad elevation Michael Jordan on the left.
Both players held their own, but the Patriots could still look to upgrade their depth.
Bleacher Report recently released every team's top five roster weaknesses after Week 1, and New England's included edge rusher, wide receiver, interior offensive line, left tackle and interior defensive line.
They also listed free agent guard Mark Glowinski as a player the Patriots should look to add now.
Here's what they wrote:
"Mark Glowinski is far from elite, but he's an experienced guard with 96 starts on his resume. With fourth-round pick Layden Robinson starting at right guard, it would make sense to bring in a more experienced veteran to compete for the position."
Sow should be back in the next couple of weeks, and having him and either Robinson or Jordan start until Strange is ready to go this year should be good enough.
Jordan has appeared in 56 games in his career and started 30, and Robinson looked powerful while run-blocking, especially on Stevenson's lone touchdown.
Offensive tackle and wide receiver should be the spots that New England continues looking for upgrades. However, they probably won't find much out there now.
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