Michael Onwenu ( ) (born December 10, 1997) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

, and was selected by the Patriots in the sixth round of the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

College career

Playing at

Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a four-year Public magnet high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States. from the University Cultural Center Association, retrieved June 9, 1001 It was established in 19 ...

, Onwenu was the top-ranked recruit in the state of Michigan for his class and committed to

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

over

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

and others. He played on both the offensive line and defensive line his freshman year; he spent the final three years of his career at right guard, starting in his junior and senior years and earning third-team all-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

honors for both seasons.

Professional career

New England Patriots

Onwenu was selected by the

in the sixth round (182nd overall) of the

. During the early portion of his rookie season, Onwenu played across the offensive line after injuries affected the normal lineup; Onwenu took snaps as a sixth offensive lineman/jumbo

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

, at right tackle, and at both guard positions. After starting the first two games as a sixth offensive lineman, Onwenu made his first career start at left guard against the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

. He helped the Patriots amass 250 rushing yards in a 36–20 victory. Despite alternating between guard and tackle, Onwenu finished the year ranked as one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL and started in all 16 of the Patriots' games. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. For the 2021 season, following the departure of left guard Joe Thuney and the acquisition of right tackle

Trent Brown Trenton Jacoby Brown (born April 13, 1993) is an American professional American football, football tackle (American football), offensive tackle for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia ...

, Onwenu moved to left guard. However, Onwenu struggled and was benched in favor of backup guard Ted Karras; the former finished the season as a backup guard and was often used as a sixth offensive lineman. The 2022 season was a bounce-back season for Onwenu; he was moved to right guard when first-round rookie

Cole Strange Devin Cole Strange (born July 31, 1998) is an American professional American football, football Guard (gridiron football), offensive guard for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Cha ...

was named starting left guard, and Karras had signed with the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. Onwenu impressed at the position, being PFF's No. 4 ranked guard. He finished the season playing in 17 games, all of which he started in. For the 2023 season, Onwenu was named starting right tackle after

Isaiah Wynn Isaiah Emmanuel Wynn (born December 9, 1995) is an American professional football offensive guard. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected by the New England Patriots in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft, where h ...

signed with division rival

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

; fourth-round rookie Sidy Sow took over as the starting right guard. On March 14, 2024, Onwenu signed a three-year, $57 million contract extension with the Patriots. After starting the first four games at right tackle, Onwenu switched back to right guard due to multiple injuries to the offensive line.

Personal life

Onwenu is of Nigerian descent; his parents were born in Nigeria but later moved to the United States.

References

External links

Michigan Wolverines bioNew England Patriots bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onwenu, Michael 1997 births Living people American players of American football of Nigerian descent American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Michigan Wolverines football players New England Patriots players Players of American football from Detroit Cass Technical High School alumni