The Patriots’ senior leadership was not afraid to admit that the team had three big needs going into the draft.

Head coach Jerod Mayo was quite clear early in his tenure that this offseason, New England needed to address three offensive line gaps: wide receiver, offensive lineman, and quarterback. The Patriots double-dipped at wide receiver and selected UNC quarterback Drake Maye third overall, allocating a sizable amount of draft cash to both positions.


Mike Onwenu, a superb offensive lineman, was re-signed by the Pats with the goal of using him at right tackle. Onwenu has fared well at right tackle in his 26 career starts—11 of which came last season—despite having a guard’s build. Who will start at the other tackle position is still up in the air, though.

De facto general manager Eliot Wolf stated at his pre-draft press conference that veteran Chuks Okorafor would start at left tackle if the season began today. Although Okorafor was a starting left tackle at Western Michigan, he hasn’t played the position consistently in his six NFL seasons. Before the draft, tackle was still in high demand.

In the third round, the Patriots picked Penn State tackle Caedan Wallace with the 68th overall choice. Similar to Okorafor, Wallace is a right tackle by trade and has made 40 starts for the Nittany Lions on the right side of the line. Wallace was taken by New England late in the day two tackle run. Wallace, along with the way the organization handled left tackle in the selection, is the Patriots’ most frequent draft misfit because of his lack of experience on the left side.

Day two saw a flurry of tackles, beginning with Houston left tackle Patrick Paul, who was selected by the Dolphins with the 55th overall pick. Halfway through the second round, Paul left for Miami, beginning a stint at the position. The Patriots picked Wallace at No. 68 last Friday night after Blake Fisher (59), Roger Rosengarten (62), Kingsley Suamataia (63), and Brandon Coleman (67) of TCU flew off the board. Coleman went the selection.

A few of them players, like Wallace, are projected to play guard or right tackle at the next level. Coleman made 34 career starts at left tackle for the Frogs, but Paul and Suamataia are pure left tackles. Did the Patriots miss the run prediction? Is Wallace able to turn to the left successfully? It would have been great to go up the board quickly to outpace other teams that were in need of tackles. Maybe, though, the Patriots were unable to locate a trading partner. Maybe they believe their scouting when they say Wallace is the best player. It’s simple to doubt them after the fact.

Nevertheless, the Patriots are putting their faith in offensive line coach Scott Peters to develop Wallace and Okorafor into starting-caliber left tackles. It is, for the time being, a gamble.

Let’s examine Wallace’s movie and talk about potential offensive line lineups for the Patriots:

Wallace’s growth as a day-two choice along the offensive line must be understood in the context of his time at Penn State before we can move on to discussing his film.

Wallace was a four-year starter at right tackle for Penn State, as Wolf informed reporters following the selection, in part because Olu Fashanu, a first-round selection, was a star on the opposing side. Fashanu started at left tackle for the Lions during the previous two seasons. Wallace had NFL-caliber talent, but that’s probably not the only reason he was prevented from switching sides.


An ankle injury caused Wallace’s poor 2022 season to end after five games. As a redshirt junior, the 24-year-old was eligible to enter the NFL draft, but it was suggested that he go back to school in order to increase his draft value. Had he announced his retirement after the 2022 campaign, he most likely would have been an undrafted free agent. Rather, Wallace went back to Happy Valley for his redshirt senior season, during which he made notable progress.

Wallace is a late bloomer and an older prospect, but his athleticism (8.23 out of 10 RAS), solid physique, good length (34 inches for the arms, 10 ½ inches for the hands), and body control all indicate that he has starting-caliber potential. He plays long with a strong two-hand punch in his pass settings, has exceptional initial agility out of his stance, and has a sturdy anchor to recover. Wallace goes to the second level as a run blocker by causing lateral displacement on zone blocks.