Onwenu looks like a draft steal for the Patriots

Over the past three weeks, the Patriots’ best rookie has also been the team’s biggest surprise.

Sixth-round pick Michael Onwenu has started all three games for the Patriots and leads all rookies on the team in snaps played with 120. What makes this first-year player even more impressive is that he’s having success while playing a position he didn’t really play in college.

At Michigan, Onwenu was a standout right guard. With the Patriots, he’s [...]

Over the past three weeks, the Patriots’ best rookie has also been the team’s biggest surprise.

Sixth-round pick Michael Onwenu has started all three games for the Patriots and leads all rookies on the team in snaps played with 120. What makes this first-year player even more impressive is that he’s having success while playing a position he didn’t really play in college.

At Michigan, Onwenu was a standout right guard. With the Patriots, he’s played right tackle, blocking tight end and most recently started at left guard. It’s still early in the 2020 season but this rookie looks like a major steal for the Patriots. On Wednesday, head coach Bill Belichick added to the hype by comparing Onwenu’s situation to other Patriots offensive linemen, such as Pro Bowler Logan Mankins, Nate Solder and All-Pro Joe Thuney.

"Mike's done a good job. He's a smart kid, he learns quickly," Belichick said. "He played right guard at Michigan. He’s played that some, but has played the other two [positions] more. His ability to adapt and adjust his footwork based on whether he’s playing tackle or playing on the left side of the line and all that’s been pretty impressive. We've had a lot of guys that have played well at a new position — Thuney at guard, Mankins at guard, even Solder his rookie year really played right tackle and played some tight end."

For the Patriots, Onwenu’s versatility has been huge. This summer, projected starting right tackle Marcus Cannon opted out. That forced the Patriots to play the rookie at right tackle along with Jermaine Eluemunor. Onwenu was rotating in and out of the lineup while also playing tight end through the first two weeks.

Last weekend, Onwenu started at left guard. This time, the Patriots moved Thuney to center with David Andrews landing on injured reserve. Onwenu had a clean game and didn’t allow a single pressure on quarterback Cam Newton.

"Day-after-day, he’s just impressive. His consistency is impressive. He’s a very strong player with good feet and good balance. And likes football. And understands football," Belichick said. "Things come pretty easily to him in terms of instinctively on the field. Obviously, our system is not the easiest system to learn at any position, but just instinctively when he has to make a decision, he has to decide to combo to level two, what angle to take to block down on a guy and so forth, he does a lot of little things well and does them right. He’s done a good job for us."

mdaniels@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @MarkDanielsPJ