Patriots fans want an offensive guard before the trade deadline, survey finds

Patriots fans have settled on their top need ahead of Tuesday's NFL trade deadline: the interior offensive line. In the latest SB Nation Reacts survey, written up by Brian Hines for SB Nation, 36% of respondents said New England should go after an offensive guard. No other position came close.

The vote follows injuries at the position. Starting guard Mike Onwenu is out for an extended stretch, and Alijah Vera-Tucker is on injured reserve. ESPN's injury report shows he was placed there on Oct. 22 with a hamstring injury. SB Nation expects Vera-Tucker back this season. It also counts Ben Brown, Matt Pryor and Greg Van Roten as serviceable interior depth, so the site does not agree with its readers. "In our opinion, the Patriots are fine at that spot," Hines wrote.

Off-ball linebacker came second at 19%. Edge rusher drew 14%, a sign of worry about a thin rotation, since SB Nation lists only Gabe Jacas, Dre'Mont Jones and Elijah Ponder as active edge players. Wide receiver got 12%, and 11% would rather the team stand pat. Fans still like the direction of the team: 81% said it is heading the right way, down from 84% the week before. SB Nation also noted that FanDuel lists New England with the 11th-shortest Super Bowl odds, sixth among AFC teams.

The poll measures what fans want, not what the front office plans. No trade has been reported, and anything that happens will come after Sunday's game, since the deadline falls two days later.

What it means for Green Bay

The Patriots (team page) are 5-3 and have won three of their last four, most recently a 24-19 win at Miami. They have been much better at home. They are 3-0 at Gillette Stadium and have outscored the Steelers, Raiders and Jets by a combined 91-39. On the road they are 2-3, with losses at Seattle, Jacksonville and Chicago. They have outscored opponents 184-162 overall, but the 35-6 loss in Jacksonville hides how close most of their games have been.

The Packers come to Foxborough on Sunday, and the market expects the home side to win. On this site's board for the game, which covers 12 venues, New England is favored at -160 on Novig's moneyline, with Green Bay at +156. Novig has the Patriots at -3.5 paying +111. The best price anywhere is FanDuel's -3 at -110, so a field-goal win would be a push there instead of a loss. The total is 44.5 at most venues. Novig prices the over at -108, theScore Bet has it at even money, and BetRivers offers the best under at 45. Sportsbook hold on the game runs from 3.0% to 5.3%, so prices vary from one venue to the next.

The guard question will likely be settled in the trenches against Green Bay, before any deal can be made. If the current interior line holds up against the Packers' front, the case for a trade gets weaker. If it struggles, fans will push harder before Tuesday. The schedule stays tough after that. New England plays at Detroit on Nov. 15, and the Lions are slightly favored at -111 on that game's board, with the Patriots at -100.