ESPN’s Ben Solak published a list of X-factors for all 32 NFL teams on Friday. He picked offensive tackle Vederian Lowe for the Patriots.
The question posed at the beginning of the piece was: “if [INSERT TEAM HERE] is surprisingly good/surprisingly bad this season, it was likely because of [INSERT PLAYER HERE].”
So, he inserted Lowe for the Patriots’ spot. The offensive line collectively has been the Patriots’ most glaring weakness during the offseason, with issues at the tackle spots in particular.
The Patriots’ strategy for much of training camp seemed to be geared toward shoring up the middle of the offensive line with David Andrews and Mike Onwenu paired on the inside with Sidy Sow.