{"id":838832,"date":"2026-03-28T11:30:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T11:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/838832\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T11:30:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T11:30:33","slug":"drake-mayes-protection-seemingly-becomes-patriots-no-1-priority-as-mike-vrabel-works-with-top-ot-prospect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/838832\/","title":{"rendered":"Drake Maye\u2019s Protection Seemingly Becomes Patriots\u2019 No.1 Priority As Mike Vrabel Works With Top OT Prospect"},"content":{"rendered":"

One thing became clear at the Super Bowl: the New England Patriots<\/a> had a significant problem in the front line. Although they had a very good 2025 season, which showed potential to make a title run, their offensive line failed them at the wrong time when they were most needed, and Drake Maye was pressured almost entirely in the last game. That performance revealed a significant gap in protection. In response, New England moved to reinforce the interior line by bringing in guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, a former New York Jets first-round pick. The addition addressed an immediate need, but it wasn\u2019t the end of their search.<\/p>\n

The focus has now shifted once again, with the head coach, Mike Vrabel, looking to better protect his quarterback moving forward. For this, the coach went to Arizona on Friday, March 27.<\/p>\n

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\u201c#Patriots HC Mike Vrabel was at Arizona State\u2019s Pro Day today, checking out 6\u20196\u201d, 321-pound OL Max Iheanachor,\u201d NFL insider Ari Meirov posted on X. \u201cNo other HC does it like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

A video posted by Meirov showed Vrabel working closely with Iheanachor during drills at Arizona State\u2019s pro day<\/a>. Even though Vrabel retired from his 14-year NFL playing career in July of 2011, the former linebacker still enjoys getting involved in physical work on the field.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Iheanachor, too, liked the experience and the chance to learn directly from him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely fun,\u201d Iheanachor told reporters after the workout. \u201cHe had some keys for me. It\u2019s really a big blessing for me to learn from him and him being hands-on and telling me what I need to work on.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Patriots hold the 31st pick, which may be too late to get one of the top players. However, with 11 total picks, they can still move up if they want to take an important player.<\/p>\n

The offensive line is still a big concern. The team improved slightly from 2024 to 2025, reducing sacks allowed from 52 to 48, but that is still not good enough. It got worse in the playoffs, where they allowed 21 sacks in four games, including six in the Super Bowl loss. This made things difficult for quarterback Drake Maye.<\/p>\n

The defense also struggled, finishing the regular season with 35 sacks. According to NFL insider Jason La Canfora, the team may need to move up in the draft to get a strong pass rusher. However, if they stay where they are, they can still find a good offensive lineman late in the first round.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Patriots could certainly target a top pass rusher, but picking so low, the defensive side of the draft will be pretty picked apart by the time they select,\u201d La Canfora wrote. \u201cEven if the Patriots do not move up, the back end of the first round is always ripe with offensive linemen with potential to start quickly as rookies.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the team needing help on the offensive line, Iheanachor looks like a good fit, especially after getting attention from Vrabel.<\/p>\n

Patriots look to strengthen offensive line with Max Iheanachor<\/p>\n

Reportedly, the New England Patriots\u2019 biggest needs in the 2026 NFL Draft are offensive line, edge rusher, and linebacker. They also want to improve their depth, especially at the center and guard positions, where top backup center Ben Brown plays.<\/p>\n

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The veteran offensive tackle, Morgan Moses, started in Super Bowl LX, but eventually lost 29-13 to the Seattle Seahawks.<\/a> He started all 17 games last year.<\/p>\n

Moses, now 35, is going into his 13th year in the league, and his age is becoming a concern. Vrabel has already hinted that Moses could have a reduced workload during training camp and practices to manage him better. That is where Max Iheanachor fits in.<\/p>\n

The Arizona State Sun Devils\u2019 offensive tackle is one of the most interesting prospects in this class, showing strong performance on film along with impressive size and physical ability. He is projected to be a first-round pick, with NFL Draft analyst Eric Edholm placing him at No. 31 overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe this pick ends up as part of a trade package for A.J. Brown, but if not, I could see the Patriots wanting to find someone to groom as Morgan Moses\u2019 replacement,\u201d Edholm writes. \u201cIheanachor is a fascinating specimen whose best ball is ahead of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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After becoming a full-time starter in 2024, he played in all 14 games at Arizona State. In 2025, he was named second-team All-Big 12. Iheanachor has also helped his draft stock with strong play at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine.<\/p>\n

With the Patriots looking to strengthen their offensive line while planning ahead, Iheanachor seems like a solid fit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One thing became clear at the Super Bowl: the New England Patriots had a significant problem in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":838833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2050],"tags":[8694,375,6221,53135,53,833,7,101377,54564,838,11814,1167,249,255,2326,2094,6,1482,208,261],"class_list":["post-838832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-england-patriots","tag-a-j-brown","tag-arizona","tag-arizona-state","tag-ben-brown","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-drake-maye","tag-football","tag-jason-la-canfora","tag-max-iheanachor","tag-mike-vrabel","tag-morgan-moses","tag-new-england","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-new-york-jets","tag-newengland","tag-newenglandpatriots","tag-nfl","tag-offensive-line","tag-patriots","tag-seattle-seahawks"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116306576718863764","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=838832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/838833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=838832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=838832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}