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When New England Patriots training camp opens at the end of the week, there’s going to be one position group that a lot of eyes are going to be on, and rightfully so. There’s probably not a bigger question mark on the team right now than the offensive line.
The possible outcomes for this group are wildly different, and, depending on who you ask, people either feel a lot better about last year, about the same, or, in some cases, even worse. In this week leading up to camp, I’m going to do a deep dive into each position along the offensive line and let you know whether I think the Patriots improved, and what to expect from the position as a whole. Today is Day 3 and today we’re looking at center. Let’s get into it.
Center deep dive
2025 starter: Garrett Bradbury
Projected 2026 starter: Jared Wilson
The right side of the line is solid; this is where the Patriots start to have some real questions. Jared Wilson has one year of starting experience under his belt, and he was decent for most of his 2025 rookie season, especially when you consider that he was playing out of position. However, playing center in the NFL is a tough job, and even though Garrett Bradbury certainly wasn’t great, and has since been traded to the Bears, he was a veteran at the position who could get the line on the same page.
Wilson hasn’t shown that he can do that yet, and so this offseason and training camp will hopefully be a crash course in playing center at the NFL level. I believe that the talent is there, and that he should be a solid player, but it’s an important position, and one that he hasn’t yet played against pro-level competition and at NFL speed both physically and mentally.
Another important reason for Wilson to play well is that there isn’t really a backup behind him. Ben Brown is back as the super sub, and he can do it, but he’s not the guy that you want starting at center for a playoff football team. They also signed undrafted rookie Jacob Rizy, but he is probably more of a camp body than anything else.
Assuming that Wilson can make the mental leap to playing the position at an adequate level that is not a downgrade from Bradbury, the Patriots should be in a good spot at center. Wilson has a ton of potential, and should give them above average performance at the position, if things go well. He has the physical tools and abilities to become one of the better centers in the league in the next few years, and that would be huge for any team, but especially one that loves to run the ball, and also has a franchise quarterback taking the snaps.
