The New England Patriots absolutely need to prioritize their offensive line this offseason if they want to have any chance of protecting quarterback Drake Maye in 2025 and beyond.
Yes, the Patriots own the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft, so they can definitely select LSU Tigers tackle Will Campbell to guard Maye’s blind side, but left tackle is far from the only problem in the trenches for New England.
The Pats pretty much have issues across the board along their offensive line, but fortunately, they have the cap room to address it.
One of the biggest prizes of the free-agent market in the coming weeks will be Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith, who Robert Zeglinski of USA Today feels the Patriots can steal.
“Acquiring Smith in this regard would make him the crown jewel of New England’s latest contention project,” Zeglinski wrote. “As someone the gifted Drake Maye could count on for the foreseeable future, Smith would be the first young offensive lineman on the active Patriots roster worth building around.”
Smith has spent the first four years of his career with the Chiefs and is coming off of his first Pro Bowl appearance. However, he didn’t exactly put forth a great showing in the playoffs and certainly was not at his best in the Super Bowl.
Whether or not that affects his value on the open market remains to be seen, but chances are, the 25-year-old will get compensated handsomely due to the shortage of genuinely elite offensive linemen that will be available.
Smith, who played his collegiate football at Tennessee, was selected by Kansas City in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft and immediately won a starting job in Year 1, so heh as been quite the success story thus far in his career.
