The Pats don't have a draft strategy for Olineman... they just have the best Oline coach that's ever existed in Dante Scarnecchia. He retired for one year and their offense was a mess and Brady was getting pounded. He unretired and their line was all of a sudden really good again with basically guys off the street. They routinely lose their tackles to big free agency contracts every year and you never hear from those guys again.
Whatever they do is not going to work for any other team.
I agree that Scarnecchia is great, and that helps immensely.
But I disagree about their strategy. The Patriots employ a very comprehensive strategy, and it looks like this.
1. Trade back into future drafts or down in rounds and acquire more draft picks to get more cracks at the apple.
2. Shuttle in lots of prospects along the OL, not wasting much if any time developing players with potential, but instead developing whomever is the best producer now. It makes for a less spectacular but incrementally better OL.
3. Don't wait on prospects … get as many through as you can and size them up quickly. If they don't respond and develop quickly, then let them go and look for someone else.
4. Make sure you have good tackles, and if that means using a 1st round pick on tackles, you do it.
5. Prioritize guys with good technique and who make less mistakes and then let the scheme carry people. Don't over-value a trait (length, quickness, etc.) or potential, instead look for guys who plug the role consistently.
6. Target guys who do everything well, not guys who are exceptional in one area (e.g. guys who can run block and pass protect solidly rather than great pass protectors).
7. Draft/recruit guys with high mental aptitude and a strong willingness to study film and the playbook outside of practice, so the scheme execution level is high even if the blocking isn't dominant.
8. Plan for guys getting old and trade/release them before they break down and while they still have trade value or save you cap numbers.
9. Find guys who are willing to learn, and leverage your exceptional OL coach.
10. Don't look for all-pros, you can't afford to keep them. Instead look for guys who do the job consistently and stay healthy.
I'd argue that every one of those things is the opposite of how the Dolphins have approached the OL in the recent past. The contrast is stark. I've been a long-time proponent of the Patriots' OL strategy, as it seems to make the most sense in this era of free agency, short and limited practice time mandated by the CBA, rules favoring passing which lead to ultra-quick/fast defenses that do not defend the run well, and the salary cap that makes re-signing budding stars difficult.
IMHO, the Patriots "get it" when understanding how to build an OL. I'm very excited to bring that approach to Miami.
