The Patriots have a long-standing history of rostering unsung heroes who make significant impacts on a weekly basis.
A player who's fit that mold over the past handful of years in Foxboro is David Andrews.
Andrews has been a stalwart on New England's offensive line ever since he joined the organization as an undrafted free agent in 2015. The veteran center is coming off one of his better seasons to date in which he started all 18 games (including playoffs) and aided in the development of then-rookie quarterback Mac Jones.
The Georgia product isn't the type of player who seeks out shine, but he received it in Cynthia Frelund's ranking of the top 10 most underrated players in all of football. The NFL analytics expert situated Andrews at No. 5, trailing only Justin Tucker, Keenan Allen, Tee Higgins and Quandre Diggs.
"I could argue offensive linemen should make up this whole list, but in the spirit of positional diversity, I limited myself to just two. Andrews particularly excels in one key area: His ability to recover," Frelund wrote in an NFL.com story published Monday. "When a defensive lineman made contact with him, to the point where his center of gravity moved unfavorably, Andrews responded to that destabilization by efficiently re-establishing his center of gravity. As a result, he was one of the best run- and pass-blocking centers in the league last year. When you consider that he had not played a full season since 2018, and he had a rookie QB to help, it's easy to see Andrews was a key contributor to the Pats' offensive stability. He forecasts to be a big help this year, as well, serving as an anchor between New England's two young guards."
The upcoming season might be the most demanding for Andrews in his Patriots tenure thus far. Early showings in training camp suggest New England's offensive line has a long way to go in trying to become a formidable unit.
