FOXBORO, Mass. — In his three NFL seasons, Joe Thuney has played 99.6, 99.6 and 100 percent of the New England Patriots’ offensive snaps at left guard.
But this spring and summer, the Patriots have utilized him at a more prominent position: left tackle.
With Isaiah Wynn, the 2018 first-round draft pick who missed his entire rookie season with a torn Achilles, still not ready to participate in team drills, Thuney has filled in as the team’s top blind-side bookend.
“It always takes a little time, but I’m getting back in the groove,” Thuney said Friday after the Patriots’ second training camp practice. “It’s just a little different working against defensive ends compared to defensive tackles — different body types and stuff. But a lot of basic fundamentals translate across the entire offensive line.”
O-line was one of the Patriots’ strongest position groups last season, and the team returns four of five starters, plus top interior backup Ted Karras. The departures of Trent Brown and LaAdrian Waddle left a question mark at left tackle, however, and though Wynn is expected to slide into that spot, his recovery from the injury he suffered last August remains a work in progress.
So Thuney is holding down the fort, for the time being, getting the nod over the various unproven tackles currently stacked on the Patriots’ depth chart. Cole Croston (five games), Dan Skipper (one), Cedrick Lang (zero), 2019 fourth-round pick Yodny Cajuste and undrafted rookie Tyree St. Louis all have little to no NFL experience, and Croston (physically unable to perform list) and Cajuste (non-football injury list) have yet to take the field in training camp.
Thuney played left tackle in college at North Carolina State but has been a full-time guard since arriving in New England in 2016. He said the position change didn’t require much additional offseason work.
“You never want to get out of shape,” Thuney said, “so you continue working out, continue running and doing little personal football stuff. Like I said, fundamentals kind of translate across the offensive line, but you still try to keep working.”
If Wynn’s recovery hits a snag and Thuney is thrust into starting duty at left tackle, he could boost his already considerable value as he enters the final year of his rookie contract.
