7 takeaways from Patriots rookie minicamp

There have been so many questions surrounding left tackle for the Patriots with Trent Brown leaving for the Cincinnati Bengals. Who is going to protect the blindside for the quarterback with last year’s starter gone and no one in the pipeline to take over?

Things got even more confusing when the team used their third-round draft pick on Penn State right tackle Caedan Wallace. The hope from the start was that Wallace’s incredible athleticism would allow him to make the transition to the blindside. That process obviously started over the weekend with Wallace seen taking snaps at left tackle.

It’s important to keep in mind that he practiced on the left side routinely while at Penn State, and he played in that spot during his high school run. So this isn’t a situation of a player starting from scratch at an unfamiliar position. Penn State just had a run of great left tackles ahead of Wallace, including Olu Fashanu, who was drafted in the first round by the New York Jets.

“I don’t find it all too hard to switch over, so just, I guess, flipping things in my mind, hand placement, certain kicks, angles, things like that,” Wallace said, via CLNS’ Taylor Kyles. “I played a lot of left in college practices, but I pretty much played all left in high school, and so, like I said, being able to work that throughout the years and then come out here, it’s been sort of an easier transition. Not completely easy, but it’s been a little easier for me.”