One of my favorite players out of the last NFL Draft cycle was versatile offensive lineman Cole Strange out of UT-Chattanooga. I even entertained the idea that Strange could be a surprise option for the Tennessee Titans in the first round. So, it wasn’t necessarily a surprise to me when the New England Patriots made him a first round pick back in the spring, though it was clearly a surprise to Sean McVay. I got the chance to scout Strange when Steven McCash and I went down to Mobile, Alabama for the 2022 Senior Bowl last year, and came away impressed. Here was my take on him after seeing him in person, and catching up on the tape afterwards:
“What stands out about Strange right off the bat is his versatility – dude has experience at center, guard, and tackle along the offensive line. He’s big – standing at 6’4″ and weighing 304 pounds, but is smooth in his movement, but utilizes his hands well and packs a punch. Strange always seems to be out ahead of the play, looking to get to the second level to make a play. I noticed him make a hell of a block in space that helped to spring Tyler Badie open on a play in practice at the Senior Bowl last week. He plays with leverage and a wide base, so it’s hard to move him on a consistent basis – I noticed that when a guy beat him in a 1:1 rep last week in Mobile, he was quick to correct course and make sure they didn’t beat him again. He has that sort of tough, finisher’s mentality. His athleticism lends itself well towards a zone blocking scheme, where a staff can really get creative with Strange.”
Strange came to mind a couple of weeks ago after I saw this tweet showing he hadn’t allowed a single sack or quarterback hit in a few weeks, and while I was still lamenting over the fact that the Titans could’ve desperately used a franchise left guard for the future…
So, I decided to pop on some Patriots tape to catch up on Strange to see if he’s lived up to the first round billing that surprised so many. As is the case with many a first round pick, my man was slotted into a starting role right off the bat. In a Week 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins, I think you still saw plenty of what made him a standout at UT-Chattanooga and throughout the draft process.
The very first offensive snap of the very first game of the season, Strange drives his guy to the outside before turning to help out the center. One of my favorite things about him was that he always seemed to be out on a play looking for a block to hit. Tenacious! pic.twitter.com/7p90AxWnPI
— Stoney Keeley (@StoneyKeeley) December 26, 2022
Strange is very active in pass protection, seeking out blocks and looking around for opportunities to make a play. He excels when he gets out in front of a play, and possesses the athleticism to be effective in the stretch game, and when the Pats want to pull him to seal an edge. In the same spirit as his active nature in looking for blocks, Strange also keeps his feet moving when engaged. He plays with a wide base that makes him damn near immovable, and he packs a punch when in space. He held his water in 1:1 situations, too.
Goes hunting with a wide base, stands his guy up, doesn't yield, keeps his foot moving and drives his man out of the play. *chef's kiss* pic.twitter.com/nLQh55aF1s
— Stoney Keeley (@StoneyKeeley) December 26, 2022
As for weaknesses, I didn’t see too many instances of him being in a poor position to make a play. There was one instance that I showed in the Twitter thread I embedded above when he went a little too low on his guy, the defender clubbed him, and got around him pretty easily. It didn’t impact they play, so all’s well that ends well, but it very well could have impacted the play. There were a couple of times when his guy got away from him a little bit at the edge, and moving laterally. I don’t know if he missed an assignment on a play or what (because…shocker…I’m just a dickhead typing on a MacBook that doesn’t actually have access to the Patriots playbook), but it looked like the left tackle passed his guy off to Strange, and he just wasn’t ready for it. Hard for me to tell who that one was on. Pure power was the biggest knock on Strange leading up to the draft, and I would like to see him drive his guys back more in run blocking. But, that’s not to say it’s necessarily a weakness for him. This is how he can be most effective in the run game:

It’s not so much mauling his man. It’s more of utilizing his athleticism to get him to the second level and springing the running back wide open. The play shown above was fantastic. He got out in front of the play (how many times am I going to type that?) and just eliminated the defender as a threat to stop it.
So, let’s compare this to his latest performance…which…coincidentally, also comes against the Dolphins. He had a nice recovery on a move that beat him on the first step, and that’s an underrated aspect of his game – recovery. He recovered to slow the rush down just enough for Mac Jones to get the pass off. The result was a big completion to Tyquan Thornton. It felt like the Dolphins were bull rushing him more. Maybe they saw what I saw from the first game, and thought they could simply overpower him? I don’t know – but, they sent Zach Sieler at him all day, and Strange held his own against a guy who’s had a pretty good year. He and Trent Brown did a nice job of picking up a stunt the Dolphins tried to throw at the left side. I didn’t see a whole lot of separation from the Pats receivers, but the offensive line did a good job of keeping Jones clean early on.
Later in the game, Strange found himself 1:1 with Jaelan Phillips, who knocked him over. Phillips has been doing that to guys all season. Jones still completed the pass, but it was interesting to see them line Phillips up over Strange. They didn’t do that too often. Strange had a really good second level block that sprung the back for a big gain – that’s his sweet spot…like I keep saying…you get him out in front of the play and the man goes headhunting. For me, it was the first play of the last drive of the first half that is just straight up football porn. The Patriots start at their own two-yard line. Strange does a great job of sustaining his block. Damien Harris has a wide open lane, and he takes it for 11 yards. Just good old fashioned football, folks.
Moving on to most recent performance, coincidentally also against the Dolphins, and holy shit look at this lane for Damien Harris. Goes for 11. pic.twitter.com/haDmyBwvDQ
— Stoney Keeley (@StoneyKeeley) January 6, 2023
There was a play in the second half on which the Dolphins blitz and the guy just breezes right by Strange untouched. Again, I don’t know the playbook. Not sure if that should’ve been something he picked up, or if he was following orders and the Dolphins just out-coached ’em on that one. All in all, this guy’s game holds up. He’s a stud.
And, this Pats team is so interesting. Jones threw some dimes in this game. Thornton looks like he can be a weapon down the field. The offensive line is good. They have some good young pieces on that offense, and Strange is one of ’em. Like…the pieces are there for this to be a good offense. Pass catchers had some drops, and their wide receivers were not consistently separating. For whatever reason, coaches (whoever the hell calls the plays) called a lot of smoke-and-mirror screens that went nowhere. From what I’ve seen on Twitter, play-calling is an issue (we know the feeling as Titans fans). But, man…the pieces are there for this to be an explosive unit.
Now, to wrap up on Strange. Was this entire post a long-winded way of me saying, “hey maybe you guys should listen to me more?” Maybe. Maybe it was. But, the Pats got ’em a good one. Strange is sticky in pass protection, and they use him as a missile in the run game. He’s going to have that left guard spot locked down for years to come, and yes, I’m bitter about that given how tricky I think the left guard spot is going to be for the Titans moving forward. I can’t help but think about what could’ve been had he ended up in the two-tone blue. *sigh*
I also got the chance to interview Cole last spring on The Unofficial Titans Podcast, and it was fantastic. I particularly loved his response to a question I asked him about getting beat in a 1:1 rep vs. Perrion Winfrey and how he bounced back to improve for the next rep.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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