Patriots Have Undeniable Confidence In Major Draft Decision

The Patriots answered a lot of questions in the 2024 NFL Draft, but also created one with a rather unexpected selection.

Is Caedan Wallace capable of playing left tackle?

Drake Maye was taken in the first round, and will be the quarterback of the future. Ja’Lynn Polk was taken in the second round, and should have an immediate impact on the receiver room. Wallace went in the third, and though he plays tackle, he’s only ever worked on the right side.

Michael Onwenu kind of has that covered already.

The Patriots don’t have too much of a worry, though, as they think Wallace will be just fine making the swap.

“He was a guy that we felt was athletic enough to possibly make the switch over on the left side,” Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf said Friday. “… He could possibly play guard. We think he could be a four-position guy, but definitely feel like he can play on the left side.”

Wallace feels the same way, echoing similar sentiments in his first meeting with New England media Friday.

“It has been a while,” Wallace admitted. “I did a lot of work at the Shrine Bowl at left tackle, but I’m super fluid. I am able to switch around at any position on the line, so I am confident wherever the coaches put me that I’ll succeed.”

OK, so Wolf and Wallace believe in the latter’s ability to succeed at left tackle. That’s enough to inspire some confidence, right? No, not exactly, as Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo was the latest to be asked about it in his post-draft avaiability Saturday.

Mayo took that opportunity to share more information about New England’s undoubted confidence in its rookie tackle.

“I love the way that he plays, but after having conversations with (Patriots offensive coordinator Alex) Van Pelt and (offensive line coach) Scott Peters and that group and (assistant offensive line coach Robert) Kugler, they were very confident that this guy could play on both sides. I have to have confidence that I picked the right people to evaluate or project what this guy can do going forward.

“I’m not into micromanaging or anything like that. If the offensive coordinator and the offensive line coach say, ‘Hey, this guy can do X, Y and Z, all right, I’ll take it in, but at the end of the day someone has to make that decision, which is me, but I also already made the decision that we picked some good coaches.”

If you can’t tell by now, the Patriots think Wallace can play left tackle. If that isn’t enough to convince you, you’ll just have to wait until he hits the field.