Patriots 90-Man Roster Spotlight: Mike Onwenu

The New England Patriots can have up to 90 players under contract during the offseason. Patriots Football Now will profile all 90 players over the upcoming weeks. Today’s featured player is offensive lineman Mike Onwenu.

Mike Onwenu

The New England Patriots selected Onwenu in the sixth round (No. 182 overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. He played collegiately for Michigan, He appeared in 46 games across four seasons with the Wolverines.

Onwenu earned a starting spot as an NFL rookie despite being a sixth-round pick. He started all 16 games for the Patriots at right tackle. He made the 2020 NFL All-Rookie Team. Despite his impressive rookie performance, Onwenu switched positions in 2021. The team traded to bring Trent Brown back to New England and Onwenu shifted to guard. He played well once again for New England, proving his versatility. He ended up splitting his time between right tackle and left guard.

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Mike Onwenu started all 17 games for the Patriots in 2022. He was locked in at right guard for the season. It was the only year to date he has not played multiple positions. He allowed only one sack on the year and earned his highest career pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus (83.1).

Onwenu missed the 2023 opener while nursing an injury. He returned in Week 2 and started at right tackle for the four games. He missed the Patriots Week 6 matchup as well, only the third missed game of his career. When he returned in Week 7 he was moved back to start at right tackle due to the struggles of others they had tried at the position.

Pro Football Focus viewed Onwenu’s 2023 performance as solid. He received a 71.5 offensive grade. This was highly affected from his four games at guard, when he was clearly not 100%. It was the lowest grade of his four-year career.

Contract Status

Mike Onwenu signed a three-year contract with the New England Patriots this offseason. His cap number for 2024 is $3.96 million.

Here's a screenshot of Michael Onwenu's deal. pic.twitter.com/ELkUBo3Utr

— Patscap (@patscap) March 13, 2024

Tackles: Chukwuma Okorafor, Vederian Lowe, Caedan Wallace, Calvin Anderson, Kellen Diesch, and Zuri Henry.

Interior Linemen: David Andrews, Sidy Sow, Layden Robinson, Atonio Mafi, Nick Leverett, Michael Jordan, Liam Fornadel, and Charles Turner III.

Eliot Wolf proved that he considered Mike Onwenu a core player for the Patriots by showing him the money this offseason. He is one of only two players locked into starting roles with New England’s offensive line, along with David Andrews.

The Patriots offensive line struggled in 2023 and has not looked any better in camp so far in 2024. Onwenu ended last season at right tackle but has been playing right guard in camp. This is somewhat of a surprise given that his contract was more in line with tackles. Joining him on the first unit over the past 10 days has been Vederian Lowe (LT), Sidy Sow (LG), David Andrews (C), and Chukwuma Okorafor (RT).

The question is not whether Onwenu will make the team or start, but where he plays. Or perhaps more accurately, where should he play?

Onwenu played 3,467 offensive snaps through his first four NFL seasons. This breaks down to 1,548 at right tackle, 1,425 at right guard, 402 at left guard, and 92 at tight end in the jumbo package.

The New England Patriots appear comfortable that Mike Onwenu can play either spot on the right side. However, if he ultimately plays tackle it would benefit the unit on the whole to move him there sooner than later. Could Onwenu play left tackle? He hasn’t been used there to date, but Jerod Mayo has stressed that he wants his best five linemen on the field. He said he also believes if a player can play on one side they can play on the other. So could Mike Onwenu at left tackle solve some of the Patriots problems? Where he ends up playing remains to be seen, but Onwenu being a solid contributor regardless of location seems to always be a safe bet.