The New England Patriots made some changes to the offensive line this offseason, and that included a position change for Jared Wilson.
Wilson started all 13 games he played in last season at left guard. Wilson was a center at the University of Georgia, but the Patriots had to move him to guard since they had Garrett Bradbury last season. However, this offseason, the Patriots traded Bradbury to the Chicago Bears this offseason.
The Patriots also signed Alijah Vera-Tucker to be the left guard, opening the door for Wilson to make the change to center in the NFL. He spoke on the move on Thursday.
“Honestly, I mean, from guard to center, people say you’ve got to know all three positions on the interior offensive line. That is a very true statement, but it was very different,” Wilson said to reporters, per MassLive's Mark Daniels. “I was there before. I played it in college. So comfortable. But there’s always things to learn. Always new things to learn and things to tweak.”
Center is not completely new to Wilson, as he was one of the best at the position in college. However, there is a big difference between playing center in college and playing center in the NFL. Wilson handled the NFL fine as a guard, but now he will slide over on a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
There's no time for Wilson to ease back into playing center. The Patriots are opening the season with a big test against the Seattle Seahawks. The Patriots are looking to get back to the Super Bowl and avenge their loss from last season, and they can't afford for Wilson to struggle out of the gates.
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