FOXBORO — His locker is still there — between a column and a new offensive lineman, Quinn Ojinnaka — but it sits empty, used mainly for storage for things like Gatorade coolers and other assorted locker room detritus. Since he refused to show up for spring workouts, when it comes to the locker room, it’s been out of sight, out of mind for Logan Mankins.

But the specter of Mankins has hovered over the New England offensive line ever since he refused to show up for the start of workouts this past spring. That holdout has extended into the OTAs, training camp, the preseason, and now, through the first three games of the regular season. The Pro Bowl left guard, still embroiled in a contract dispute with the team, was reportedly close to a deal with the Patriots earlier this month, only to have the whole thing fall apart over a public apology.

Now, through three games, the Patriots have also gone without Mankins, as well as Nick Kaczur, last year’s starting right tackle (for most of the season) and, before he went down with a back injury during training camp, the guy who was going to step in and replace Mankins. How have the Patriots performed in their absence? It’s a relatively small sample size, but a close look at the numbers reveals the New England offense has done pretty well without them in the lineup.

Through three games, the Patriots have run 194 total plays, and setting aside kneel downs, 11 plays have resulted in negative yardage, an impressive percentage. The New England offensive line has also been disciplined — while tight end Alge Crumpler (who has served as an extra offensive lineman on several occasions) has been whistled for a holding call and a false start, center Dan Koppen is the only true offensive lineman who’s been flagged at all this season, picking up a holding call of his own in the season-opener against Cincinnati.

In pass blocking, the Patriots have kept quarterback Tom Brady mostly clean through the first three games, yielding only two sacks (tied for second-fewest in the league through Week 3) on 100 pass dropbacks. Meanwhile, opponents have registered five quarterback hits on Brady. When it comes to the running game, the numbers are also positive: the Patriots have rushed for 370 yards through three games (10th in the league), and the backs have averaged 4.6 yards per carry (tied for seventh in the league).

Some of that success can be rooted in familiarity. Since Kaczur went down early in camp, the same five guys have been out there: Matt Light at left tackle, Dan Connolly at left guard, Koppen at center, Stephen Neal at right guard and Sebastian Vollmer at right tackle. (Mark LeVoir rotated in at right tackle for a few snaps against the Bills when Vollmer missed a few minutes with a leg injury.) The more an offensive line plays together, the more continuity is developed, and the better the line becomes.

Another part of the success can be traced back to the fact that Vollmer has been in the starting lineup since the start of the season. The second-year tackle out of Houston had a stellar rookie season, but didn’t start until mid-October. A full season of Vollmer — who many consider to be New England’s second-best offensive lineman behind Mankins — as a starter should pay dividends for the Patriots’ offensive line.

The other reason for an improved line is the presence of veteran tight end Crumpler. Considered one of the best blocking tight ends in the game, he has certainly performed as advertised. Running back Fred Taylor called him a “mauler.”

“I think if we take care of things up front, we have plenty of skill guys that can find the holes and creases and make plays,” Crumpler said Monday, a day after New England ran for 200 yards in a win over Buffalo. “It was great for Danny [Woodhead] to come, with the package that he ran. BenJarvus [Green-Ellis] came in and did some really good things. Fred [Taylor] started out really well.”

Here’s a week-by-week look at the protection offered by the line:

Against the Bengals, the Patriots were able to rush for 118 yards, an impressive 5.1 yards per carry average. Brady wasn’t sacked in 35 dropbacks, and was hit twice — once by defensive end Frostee Rucker and once by defensive tackle Geno Atkins.

“They played great,” Brady said of the offensive line after the opener. “That’s a good front, too, with [Robert] Geathers and [Antwan] Odom and the blitz packages they run. I thought we did a good job handling the blitz and I think what happened was we hit some big plays early so it slowed them down a little bit, but it's a great offensive line.

“Those two tackles are special players, and Steve [Neal], Dan Connolly — the way he stepped in. And Koppen has been a rock there for a long time. It's as good an offensive line as we've ever had. We're going to need it all year.”

Against the Jets, Brady was sacked once and was hit once by defensive lineman Shaun Ellis in 36 dropbacks. On the ground, the Patriots struggled, finishing with just 52 yards and a 2.6 yards per carry average. If you are ranking the three performances, this was probably the worst of the three — even though Brady stayed relatively clean, the starters allowed 11 pressures of Brady, according to Pro Football Focus. And New England’s inability to get any sort of running game going early (14 first-half carries resulted in just 32 yards) left it all up to the passing game.

Against the Bills, Brady had 27 dropbacks and was sacked once and hit twice, both times by defensive tackle Kyle Williams. On the ground, the Patriots were able to rush for 200 yards — an average of 5.3 yards per carry — including 98 yards from BenJarvus Green-Ellis.

“The line – actually, everybody did a good job out there,” Green-Ellis said. “I was just trying to do my job and run through the holes they created.”

While Patriots coach Bill Belichick was quick to acknowledge the early-season success of the offensive line on Monday, he stressed that it’s been a complete team effort from the offense that’s been able to create good protection.

“I think they’ve done a good job. I think the protection has been good,” he told WEEI on Monday. “But again, that’s a combination of route running, quarterback receiver timing and pass protection. It’s all related. There are a lot of plays where the ball has gone out of there quickly and a lot of times to an open receiver. The fact that the receivers are getting open quickly, the quarterback is getting the ball out, you don’t have to block very long.”