FOXBORO — The Patriots debuted their new offense Monday during the first organized team activities practice of the spring and with it came a new blind-side protector.
Free-agent signing Chukwuma Okorafor received first-team reps at left tackle in offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s new system, which didn’t come as a major surprise.
The Herald reported in March that the Patriots believed Okorafor, who previously started at right tackle with the Steelers, could play on the left side. Later that month, new head coach Jerod Mayo said Okorafor, who goes by “Chuks” (pronounced as chooks), would be the team’s left tackle if the team was forced to play a game that day.
The Patriots didn’t add a traditional left tackle in the draft, instead selecting former Penn State right tackle Caedan Wallace. Like with Okorafor, the Patriots believe Wallace can flip over to the left side. The rookie received reps at left tackle along with veteran Vederian Lowe behind Okorafor.
Okorafor, 26, knows he can play left tackle but is also realistic that the transition won’t be seamless overnight. He hasn’t regularly played the position since his last two seasons at Western Michigan in 2016 and 2017.
“I’ve been in the NFL for a while now. If I knew I couldn’t do it, I wouldn’t have chosen to do it,” Okorafor said. “It will take time, but I know who I am and what I can do. …
“I played right my whole time in Pitt. It’s obviously new. I’m trying to learn left as of now. I’m just trying to learn a whole new playbook. I’m trying to learn a whole new city, a whole new town. So, everything is kind of new to me now but I’m blessed.”
The 6-foot-6, 320-pound blocker started 59 of 77 games played with the Steelers from 2018 to 2023. Of the 4,077 offensive snaps he’s played over the course of his NFL career, 97.5% of them have come at right tackle. He’s lined up at left tackle twice, right guard once and as a sixth offensive lineman at tight end 100 times.
Despite everything new he’s trying to absorb, he said his head isn’t spinning.
“I’ve been in the league for a while. I obviously knew this when I chose to come here,” Okorafor said. “It’s really nothing new to me. …
“I’ve taken every single snap that I’ve taken in the last six years at right. So it’s learning how to set and use my hands. That kind of stuff. It’s a bunch of stuff, but I can’t complain.”
Okorafor’s fiercest competition for a starting job will probably come from Wallace, as long as the Patriots don’t sign another free-agent tackle. David Bakhtiari, Duane Brown, Charles Leno Jr. and Donovan Smith are the top available options.
It will be an important job, especially if rookie quarterback Drake Maye beats out Jacoby Brissett and Bailey Zappe for the team’s starting job. During the first OTAs session, Maye took third reps behind Brissett and Zappe.
The Patriots believe that Wallace, who played left tackle during rookie minicamp, is athletic enough to play on the blindside in the NFL. The 2024 third-round pick played right tackle at Penn State while Rasheed Walker, a Packers seventh-round pick in 2022, and Olu Fashanu, the 11th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, held down the right side.
“He’s obviously a young guy. I haven’t really watched him play live before, so I can’t really speak on that yet, but he’s someone who’s hungry and wants to learn,” Okorafor said of Wallace. “That’s honestly the thing now. He’s coming from college, coming to the NFL, everything is new to him, but obviously with me, everything is new, but I’ve at least played in NFL games here. He’s someone who wants to learn. He wants to figure out what I’m doing, how I do it. He seems to be doing good so far.”
Okorafor didn’t have any history with his new coaches on the Patriots, but he did know starting right tackle Mike Onwenu. Both players hail from Michigan and have Nigerian roots. Their mothers were close, so Okorafor considered Onwenu a close family friend. The two players were in touch this offseason after Okorafor was released by the Steelers and Onwenu was set to hit free agency.
Okorafor has also been impressed with his new offensive line coach Scott Peters, who comes to the Patriots from the Browns.
“He’s solid. He’s big about technique. I’ve had some coaches in the past whether it’s college or NFL, it’s just run and hit kind of deal,” Okorafor said. “But he’s technique, hands, feet, everything. So far, it’s been good.”
The Patriots also hired ex-Panthers assistant Robert Kugler and ex-Brown offensive line coach Mike McCarthy to assist the line. Peters, Kugler and McCarthy replace offensive line coaches Adrian Klemm and Billy Yates, who weren’t retained by Mayo. Former Patriots left tackle Trent Brown is now on the Bengals.