FOXBORO, Mass. — Trent Brown was thrilled to rejoin the New England Patriots this offseason.
Bill Belichick sounds just as happy to have him back.
The Patriots head coach lauded Brown during his Monday morning video conference, saying it’s “awesome” to have the jumbo-sized offensive tackle back in New England after his two seasons with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders.
In fact, Belichick believes Brown now is a “much more valuable player” for the Patriots than he was in 2018, when he started every game at left tackle for a Pats team that won Super Bowl LIII.
“Trent’s done a good job of not only reacclimating himself but bringing a good level of leadership and toughness and dependability to the team that I think everybody respects — I know everybody respects and appreciates,” Belichick said. “He’s ready to go. He’s got a good blue-collar working attitude. He competes well. Whatever the situation is — run, pass, two-minute drill, goal line, whatever it happens to be — he competes well. He performs well.
“He really has done a good job of taking the 2018 year of experience in the system and really building on it and becoming a much more valuable player in terms of leadership, communication and helping other people out. I think in 2018, he was, as he should have been, very focused on just trying to do his job and do it well, which he still does, but I think now he also brings an element of experience and leadership and stability and dependability that is at a very high level, which is great.
“I mean, honestly, it’s been awesome to have him.”
One of the players who’s benefitting most from Brown’s newfound leadership is the Patriots’ current left tackle, Isaiah Wynn. Wynn said Monday the 28-year-old Brown has been like another coach for him since the latter’s mid-March trade from Las Vegas.
“He’s been a good guy to have around again,” said Wynn, who spent the entire 2018 season on injured reserve. “He’s been here before, so just being able to pick his brain, and receive coaching from him has been great. … Just little technique stuff, like if he sees my hand placement in the wrong place, he’ll let me know. If he thinks I can get another kick in, he’ll let me know. So just being that type of coach for me.”
With Wynn starting on the left side, Brown now is playing right tackle for the Patriots, the same spot he manned with both the Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers. Belichick said it’s rare to find a player who can excel at both tackle positions.
“The concept of a swing tackle that’s good at both is pretty unusual,” Belichick said. “It’s probably like the switch hitter that hits .300 from both sides of the plate. It’s hard to find those guys. Honestly, you’re happy if you can find one that’s really good at one or the other.”
With Brown back, Wynn healthy and Mike Onwenu, David Andrews and Shaq Mason forming a formidable interior trio, the Patriots should boast one of the NFL’s top O-lines this season.
