The New England Patriots signed former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor to a ... [+]
Left tackle proved to be a revolving door for the 2023 New England Patriots.
From the opener through the finale, Trent Brown, Vederian Lowe and Conor McDermott took turns starting on the blindside of the offensive line. Additional names also rotated in there on the way to a 4-13 record.
The depth chart has shifted since then. But as it stands in April, a March arrival in Chukwuma Okorafor projects atop of it.
“I think if the season started today, which I get on the guys about using that phrase because that can sometimes lead to bad decisions,” Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf told reporters during his Thursday press conference at Gillette Stadium. “If we had a game tomorrow, we don’t have a punt returner. Stuff like that. If the season started tomorrow, I think it would be Okorafor. But that is probably more of a question for Coach [Jerod] Mayo.”
Okorafor, 26, had been released by the Pittsburgh Steelers leading up to the new league year. A one-year contract in Foxborough followed before the official start of free agency. It brings a cap hit of $4 million, according to OverTheCap.com, including a fully guaranteed $1.125 million base salary and $2 million signing bonus.
A workout bonus of $195,000 and up to $680,000 in per-game roster bonuses lie ahead. So does a chance to align where he seldom has since entering the NFL.
Okorafor landed in the third round of the 2018 draft at No. 92 overall. The Western Michigan product went on to spend six campaigns in the AFC North with the organization that filled out his card. A three-year, $29.25 million extension was reached along the way.
In the regular season, Okorafor appeared in 77 games for the Steelers while starting 59. The veteran bookend accumulated 3,938 offensive snaps over that span. Pro Football Focus charted him for playing 97% of that workload at right tackle. As for the remainder, he served as an eligible tight end and spelled in for one down at right guard to go with two downs at left tackle.
But there is familiarity there.
“He played there in college,” Wolf said of Okorafor’s experience on the left side. “And so, we went back and watched that film.”
Okorafor twice earned first-team All-MAC honors during his collegiate career. He started all 26 games at left tackle between his junior and senior years en route to the Reese’s Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine.
“Obviously evaluated him when he was coming out,” added Wolf. “And he’s an athletic, big guy, so we feel like he can make that transition — or make that transition back — to playing on the left.”
Last season in Pittsburgh featured 14 contests for Okorafor. The 6-foot-6, 320-pound blocker started half of that tally, allowing nine hurries, no hits and pair of sacks in pass protection. Rookie Broderick Jones, who was selected in the first round through a trade with New England, had taken over at right tackle by November.
Another draft nears with tackle among the primary positions to monitor.
The Patriots currently hold the rights to eight selections, starting at No. 3 and continuing early in the second and third rounds and No. 34 and No. 68 overall.
