Isaiah Wynn is Officially on the Patriots Roster and Our Long, National Nightmare is Over

It's been a long time coming. From the day Isaiah Wynn was drafted with the 23rd pick of 2018 until now, we've only gotten flashes of him. He missed all of last year with a torn Achilles. Came back to play every snap in Week 1's destruction of the Steelers in which the Patriots had 465 total yards and Tom Brady was only sacked once. Then he came out of Week 2 at Miami after just 17 plays. And our nation has turned it's lonely eyes to him. 

Thanks in large part to the utter inability of Wynn's backup, Marshall Newhouse to give New England any reason to rest peacefully at night. 

I get that left tackle is one of the most thankless positions in sports. Where every success is taken for granted and every failure on your part goes right into somebody else's highlight reel. God knows Nate Solder and Matt Light had their detractors even while they were winning multiple rings. And that this year on  Newhouse's watch, Tom Brady has been among the least sacked, least pressured QBs in the league. 

But I can't put a shine on this slow moving, fundamentally unsound, unpowerful sneaker:

Which is why Wynn has the chance to be one of the best midseason acquisitions or reacquisitions in all of football. To become the physical, agile, versatile run blocking, pass protecting force he was playing against the best competition in the country at Georgia:

Advertisement

It's a small sample size, obviously. But in his 45 career passing plays, Wynn has given up a total of 1 QB Hit, 1 Pressure 0 Sacks and 1 Penalty (declined). Even allowing that they came against Bud Dupree and TJ  Watt, those won't be good enough numbers going forward. But give Dante Scarnecchia more weeks to work with a blue chip prospect like him and I like his chances. Especially given his and this personnel department's track record for drafting and developing offensive linemen.

Even more, Wynn finally takes his place among a steady line of cornerstone left tackles that goes all the way back to the day the Pats drafted Bruce Armstrong in 1987. Coincidentally, also with the 23rd pick. Since then the franchise had a total of just four LTs start a season for them, Armstrong, Light, Solder, and Trent Brown last year. This week, Wynn finally takes his rightful place as the fifth, and can be there for the next decade or more. 

Wynn's future begins. And so does the return of the Patriots offense. 

P.S. I consider myself a guy who was in on the ground floor of Gunner Olszewski from the first practice of OTAs. One of the founding members of the Gunnies. But given the state of the LT spot, I'll make this trade all day long.