FOXBORO — Four years into his NFL career and fresh off of signing a life-changing contract extension with the Patriots this offseason, Mike Onwenu has finally settled into one position.

Onwenu, who has started at left guard, right guard and right tackle since being selected 182nd overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, expects to stick at right tackle this season.

This jibes with what head coach Jerod Mayo said at the NFL Annual Meeting in March after the team signed Onwenu to a three-year, $57 million contract extension. Onwenu switched from right guard to right tackle last season and briefly helped to settle a struggling offensive line.

“Through the whole process, we spoke about me playing tackle,” Onwenu said Thursday. “And even after I signed, that was the same thing. In my mind, I’m still playing right tackle.”

Onwenu said he would have been fine with playing either position, depending on who signed him in free agency. But he’s excited about how things worked out with returning to the team that drafted him.

“I loved it. The process went good,” Onwenu said. “I’m happy to be back here, so that’s all that matters.”

The Patriots do currently have a potential hole at left tackle, where Trent Brown, who signed with the Bengals this offseason, played last season. The top option is Chukwuma Okorafor, who, like Onwenu, is from the Detroit area and has Nigerian roots, so the two players have known each other since high school. The other top options are 2024 third-round pick Caedan Wallace and veterans Calvin Anders, Vederian Lowe and Tyrone Wheatley Jr.

Onwenu was asked if he believes he could play left tackle.

“This year? I wouldn’t say so, but definitely with the practice and trying it out, I definitely think I could,” Onwenu said.

Okorafor, 26, has only played two regular season snaps at left tackle since being selected in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was a two-year starter at left tackle in college at Western Michigan.

“Definitely a good player. He’s a really good athlete, so I’ll be excited for him this year,” Onwenu said of his old friend.