A to Z Sports is reviewing the New England Patriots’ 2022 NFL Draft class ahead of the team’s upcoming organized team activities next week.

Next up in our Patriots 2022 NFL Draft review is a first-round pick who appears to be a long-term starter in New England’s offense but still must prove he was worth the draft capital used to select him.

Round 1, Pick 29: Chattanooga G Cole Strange

2022 Summary: Strange started 17 of 17 games at left guard, but he was benched in two consecutive games midway through the season. He finished pretty strong over the final eight weeks after the tough stretch, especially as a pass blocker. From Week 14 on, Strange ranked seventh among guards in PFF’s pass-blocking grade. Overall last season, he was ranked 28th in PFF pass-blocking grade and 44th as a run blocker. He let up five sacks and 38 total pressures. He was flagged six times.

What lies ahead: Strange needs to be better, or at least more consistent, in Year 2 to live up to his first-round billing. He’ll be 25 years old in 2023, and to have his fifth-year option picked up in 2026, he’ll need to be performing at a near-All-Pro level. And he was pretty far from it as a rookie.

At the same time, Strange will no longer be playing under an inexperienced offensive line coach in Matt Patricia. New England hired former Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Oregon offensive line coach Adrian Klemm to take over the positional group. The Patriots also brought on Bill O’Brien as offensive coordinator to take over for Patricia as play-caller. Those additions should improve New England’s offense as a whole, and the line shouldn’t have the same missteps as last year’s group.

If any rookie suffered most from the Patriots’ bizarre offensive coaching decisions, it was Strange. It’s also worth noting that his biggest struggles coincided with offensive captain and long-time starting center David Andrews being out with an injury at midseason last year. That will impact a young offensive lineman like Strange.

We’ll see where Strange goes from here. He comes from a smaller school and he’s an older second-year player, but he’s a tremendous athlete who showed growth as a rookie and was playing like one of the best pass-blocking guards by late in the season.

The arrow is pointing up. Whether or not he reaches that All-Pro level of play is another question. 

Other 2022 NFL Draft picks: OT Andrew Stueber, G Chasen Hines, DT Sam Roberts, RB Kevin Harris, QB Bailey Zappe, RB Pierre Strong, CB Jack Jones, CB Marcus Jones, WR Tyquan Thornton