Although he has not been part of the New England Patriots for two years now, the impact of Bill Belichick's shortcomings on the team's roster remains evident in the 2025 season. Most of it centers around his inefficient drafting, particularly later in his tenure, forcing the new regime to overhaul the team as dramatically as possible just to be competitive, or at least close to it, again.
They have already made the right moves through free agency and the draft, with many previous starters now fighting for their jobs in training camp. One of the more prominent names on that list, who has an interesting reputation as one of Belichick's most mind-boggling first-round draft picks, continues to be offensive lineman Cole Strange, who has had a rough road since he entered the NFL.
That doesn't appear to be ending anytime soon, either, as he is an easy player for analysts to cut from their 53-man roster projections for the 2025 season, and it certainly doesn't help that a rookie is actively playing like a starter and well on his way to sealing his fate as the Patriots' left guard.
It's not looking good for Cole Strange to make the Patriots' 2025 roster
Despite being drafted as a center, Jared Wilson has been moved around the offensive line since the start of training camp and has looked like a superstar as the left guard. It's already looking like he will be the starter for the upcoming season, especially since he's been practicing with the starters over the past few weeks, which moves Strange down the depth chart immediately.
That explains why the latest roster projection done by the Boston Herald's Doug Kyed leaves him off the team for the 2025 season.
"Cole Strange had a tough week last week. He began training camp as the team’s top left guard. By the end of the week, he was receiving second-team reps at center behind Ben Brown and with Garrett Bradbury out with injury. That thrust Wilson into the top spot at left guard with Wallace behind him. We’ll see how the interior offensive line shakes out when Bradbury returns, but for now, it appears Strange is the third-string center."
Making Strange's future even dimmer is Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston, who has a similar take to Kyed, as he, too, leaves the lineman off his roster projection, citing his fall down the depth chart as the primary explanation.
"Cole Strange, not included in this projection, feels like the third center. And he feels like the third or fourth guard behind Onwenu, Wilson and (perhaps) Wallace. Wallace's standing as a second-year player -- someone considered worthy of a third-round pick -- is what earns him the nod over Strange as a reserve guard here."
While this is far from a certainty at this point since roster cutdowns don't happen for another few weeks, it's clear Strange's New England future looks bleak, which is an unfortunate turn of events for a player who was a first-rounder, even if he shouldn't have been.
The only good out of the situation, of course, is that it looks like the Patriots have a solid left guard in Wilson and should have a much-improved offensive line for Drake Maye to work with this year. That will make a massive difference on the offense's production and make it far more difficult for opposing defenses to take them down easily.
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