The Patriots went into the draft with three major needs that the top brass weren’t shy about sharing.
Early in his regime, head coach Jerod Mayo made it crystal clear that New England had to address three holes on the offensive side of the ball this offseason: quarterback, wide receiver, and offensive tackle. The Patriots invested significant draft capital by selecting UNC quarterback Drake Maye third overall and double-dipping at wide receiver.
At offensive tackle, the Pats re-signed standout offensive lineman Mike Onwenu with the intention of playing Onwenu at right tackle. Despite being built like a guard, Onwenu has held up well in his 26 career starts, including 11 last season, at right tackle. However, there’s still uncertainty about who will start at the other tackle spot.
During his pre-draft press conference, de facto general manager Eliot Wolf said that if the season started today, veteran Chuks Okorafor would be the starting left tackle. Okorafor hasn’t regularly played the position in his six NFL seasons but was a starting left tackle at Western Michigan. Still, tackle remained a top need heading into the draft.
With the 68th overall pick in the third round, the Patriots selected Penn State tackle Caedan Wallace. Wallace, like Okorafor, is a right tackle by trade with 40 career starts on the right side for the Nittany Lions. New England selected Wallace at the backend of the day-two tackle run. Due to his inexperience on the left side, Wallace, and how the team addressed left tackle, is the most common second guess in the draft for the Patriots.
A cluster of tackles went on day two, starting with Houston left tackle Patrick Paul at 55th overall to the Dolphins. Paul went to Miami midway through the second round, which started a run at the position. Blake Fisher (59), Roger Rosengarten (62), Kingsley Suamataia (63), and TCU’s Brandon Coleman (67) flew off the board, with Coleman going the pick before the Patriots…
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