I actually think Wendell has been one of the biggest surprises so far this year. I don’t think anyone had him winning the center battle outright when camp started and so far this season he’s been pretty solid, especially in run blocking.
PFF has graded him 1.6, 2.1, 1.2 so far this season, though Greg Bedard noted he struggled a bit in pass protection against the Ravens. Still overall he’s been solid and it’s entirely possible that the Patriots see him as the long term solution at center. His play so far has shown promise.
Vollmer played all the snaps against the Ravens and that’s a positive development. If he can stay healthy he’s an impact player and he should only get better as he gets fully into game shape. As for Marcus Cannon he’s shown that he can be a decent fill in at right tackle. The question everyone has is whether or not he’s a better fit at right guard. Everyone outside of Bill Belichick seems to think he is, but we know whose opinion counts most there.
Connolly right now is the biggest question mark to me. He was solid at center last year but so far this year he’s been below average at right guard. He didn’t play in week two due to a concussion, but his grades from PFF this year are -3.6 and -1.5 with real struggles in run blocking. You can’t have that from your right guard.
Overall I’d expect the offensive line to do nothing but improve if they can all stay on the field. But for me Connolly is the biggest question mark right now.
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