Ever since Trent Brown left in free agency for Oakland, we've been waiting to see if Isaiah Wynn, the 2018 first-round pick, was ready to take over the job.
He's been brought along slowly since suffering an Achilles tear on his ninth snap of last year's second preseason game against the Eagles, but Wynn has looked good in limited practice reps, especially in the joint sessions with the Titans this week.
Saturday night's 22-17 victory over the Titans provided the first game action for Wynn and he played 18 snaps — double his output in this game last year.
How did he do?
There was some good and some bad, but generally, there were promising signs in regards to Wynn's quest to be the Patriots' next starting left tackle.
“Yeah, I think Isaiah did a good job,” Brian Hoyer said after the game. “You've obviously got to go back and watch the film. But from when I was back there, I thought for him to get out there, it was great to see him out there.”
We broke down each play, the individual matchup, how Wynn did and we assigned a grade for that play.
Let's break it down:
13:56: 1-10, Patriots' 31-yard line
Matchup: DT Amani Bledsoe, undrafted free agent
What happened: Wynn does a great job firing off the ball and sticking with Bledsoe, even when the end tried to disengage. Wynn didn't allow any penetration, but Bledsoe is not an NFL-caliber player, though he's had a good camp for the Titans. Ted Karras, playing left guard next to Wynn, got tossed aside and got Brian Hoyer hit hard.
Grade: A.
13:50: 2-10, Patriots' 31
Matchup: OLB Kamalei Correa, acquired for a sixth-round pick from Baltimore last summer. A backup fighting for a roster spot who has mostly been a special teams player.
What happened: Wynn does a nice job sorting out his assignment, as Ben Watson chipped Correa coming out. Wynn lets Correa get into his chest, but Wynn keeps his feet moving and the much lighter player can't go anywhere. Correa was not good in practice this week.
Grade: A-minus. Very good start.
12:01: 1-10, Patriots' 13
Matchup: Correa.
What happened: A Damien Harris run goes over right guard away from Wynn, who engages with Correa off the snap with a good base. But Correa gets under Wynn's pads and is able to rip him and toss him to one knee on the turf. Run goes for 3 yards as Correa jumps on the pile.
Grade: D. Anytime a blocker is on the ground, it's never good.
11:26: 2-7, Patriots' 16
Matchup: DE DaQuan Jones, LB Jayon Brown. Both are starters.
What happened: Run for 3 yards around the left side by Harris. Wynn and Karras attempt to execute a double team at the point of attack against Jones. Wynn largely does his part, but I'm guessing Dante Scarnecchia would want Wynn to stay on the double team a beat longer — to allow Karras to get a better angle on Jones — before moving to the next level. Wynn also gets in good position on Brown, but doesn't sustain the block. Jones makes the play and Brown is right there if Jones doesn't.
Grade: C. Both movements and the footwork were good, just needs some more polish and better timing, which will come.
10:48: 3-5, Patriots' 18
Matchup: OLB LaTroy Lewis, a journeyman who is a longshot to make the team.
What happened: Wynn does his part. A little late off the ball but is velcro to Lewis and totally stones him. Hoyer is sacked on a late blitz but a penalty negates the play.
Grade: A.
10:29: 1-10, Patriots' 23
Matchup: Bledsoe.
What happened: Wynn doesn't get a great piece of Bledsoe off the ball, but Karras is there. Wynn tries to pick the backside backer off but gets caught in the wash of a good block by James Ferentz.
Grade: C. Nothing great, nothing bad.
9:48: 2-6, Patriots' 23
Matchup: DE Austin Johnson, a 2016 second-round pick.
What happened: Wynn reaches for Johnson and misses when the end ducks inside, which leaves Wynn totally off balance. This play could have been a disaster but because the protection is sliding to Wynn, Karras is right there to help and clean up Johnson on a short completion to Harris.
Grade: D. This was probably Wynn's worst play and he'll learn from it.
9:12: 3-1, Patriots' 32.
Matchup: Malcolm Butler. We know that guy.
What happened: Patriots go jumbo with two backs and two tight ends to pick up the yard needed for a first down. Karras completely whiffed on his block against Matt Dickerson for a 2-yard loss. Wynn comes off the ball good and low, but when Wynn ducks his head to engage Butler, the veteran cornerback steps back and slides around and could have been in position to make a tackle if need be.
Grade: D. Wynn needs to keep his eyes up and drive the much smaller Butler out of the play.
4:24: 1-10, Patriots' 26
Matchup: OLB Sharif Finch, who's battling for a roster spot.
What happened: Quick pass to the right and Karras and Wynn easily double team Finch and he goes nowhere.
Grade: A.
3:49: 2-1, Patriots' 35
Matchup: Brent Urban (6-7, 295). He's a starter and played a lot in Baltimore.
What happened: Harris goes over right guard for 4 yards as Wynn fires off the ball, gets inside leverage against the much larger Urban and walls him off.
Grade: A-plus. Wynn's best snap to this point.
3:15: 1-10, Patriots' 39
Matchup: Urban.
What happened: Quick throw to the left on a five-step drop but Wynn does a great job of catching Urban, getting his hips under him and got giving any ground.
Grade: A. Wynn's starting to knock off the rust.
2:48: 1-10, Titans' 45
Matchup: Urban.
What happened: Outside zone run to the right, which requires Wynn to cut Urban on the backside. Wynn's mechanics are perfect but he doesn't quite get enough of Urban, who makes a nice athletic play to avoid the block and get in on the tackle from the backside.
Grade: B-minus. Execution was good but the result wasn't.
2:16: 2-2, Titans' 37
Matchup: Finch.
What happened: Run over left guard. Good initial movement by Wynn as he tries to angle off Finch. Finch long-arms him to get a little separation and get in on the tackle.
Grade: B. Good block, better play by Finch.
1:37: 1-10, Titans' 33
Matchup: Lewis.
What happened: Good initial block but Wynn gets a little off-balance and Finch disengages and winds up chasing Hoyer out of bounds on the other side of the field.
Grade: C. Some good, some not-so-good.
55 seconds: 2-8, Titans' 31
Matchup: Finch.
What happened: Wynn is complete Velcro to Finch, who goes nowhere and can't disengage.
Grade: A.
20 seconds: 1-10, Titans' 21
Matchup: DT Isaiah Mack, UDFA.
What happened: Harris goes for 20 to the 1 as Karras and Wynn execute a double team that has Wynn in complete control of Mack.
Grade: A. Almost pancaked the big fella.
15:00: 1st-Goal, Titans 1
Matchup: Mack.
What happened: Wynn did his job, firing off the ball, getting low and shoving both Mack and the middle linebacker.
Grade: A-plus. A 2-for-1 special.
14:30: 2nd-Goal, Titans 1
Matchup: Air.
What happened: Patriots ran a perfectly timed toss around left end as Wynn pulls with FB Jakob Johnson. Wynn lets the first player through for Johnson and then picks off a safety in the end zone.
Grade: A. Johnson had the pancake, but Wynn had nice execution as well as Brandon Bolden walked in untouched.
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