Need to find next in line
Scar key to filling tackle job
Franchise left tackles aren’t typically found on the weekend. Teams who want to protect their quarterback’s blind side with a stud know to strike early.
To that end, the Patriots have done well with their selections in the first two rounds of the NFL draft. During the past 30 years, they’ve basically had three guys hold down the left side.
Nate Solder, the 17th overall pick in 2011, has been the most recent. Matt Light, who had the baton the 11 seasons before Solder, was the 48th overall selection in 2001. And Bruce Armstrong, who protected Drew Bledsoe, was No. 23 in 1987.
With Solder taking the Giants money, and leaving in free agency, that’s left the Patriots with a significant hole on the left side.
Can that void be filled in this draft?
With the draft capital the Patriots have accumulated — adding a second firstround pick in the No. 23 spot by trading Brandin Cooks to the Los Angeles Rams, and having four picks in the top 63 — they are certainly in position to land one of the top tackles.
They’ve also done their homework. Offensive line coach and resident guru Dante Scarnecchia has a book on all of the essential candidates. He was at Notre Dame’s pro day, getting an up-close look at this year’s top-rated tackle, Mike McGlinchey, who might be the only NFL-ready tackle on the board.
He also has the skinny on UCLA’s Kolton Miller, another promising tackle who might go in the first round, along with Texas’ Connor Williams and Pittburgh’s Brian O’Neill. Then there’s North Carolina State’s Will Richardson as well as North Carolina A&T’s Brandon Parker, who would be more in the project category.
“They have the flexibility to do anything. They can move up if they really like a person. They can move back, which they’ve had a history of doing,” said former Patriots lineman and current ESPN analyst Damien Woody. “But the greatest asset the Patriots have is their coaching. Dante’s been able to identify players, and develop those players.”
Scarnecchia can certainly get players ready to perform with the best of them. He’s always been able to do more with less, get players to overachieve or at least play to their potential. He had Light starting as a rookie.
If the Patriots dip into the draft for Solder’s replacement, finding prospects who are NFL ready is a tall order. But that’s where Scarnecchia will have to work his magic.
“A lot of these college systems run the spread system. A lot of these guys don’t even get into a stance. So you might get a guy who’s never been in a stance before which is crazy,” Woody said. “It’s one of the most basic and rudimentary things you can ask of an offensive lineman. And now you have to teach him from step one, how to get into a stance in pro football. From that perspective, they aren’t what they used to be.”
The bottom line here, whether the Pats draft a left tackle or go with someone in-house, Scarnecchia will be key.
Currently, LaAdrian Waddle, who was re-signed as a free agent, likely tops the depth chart. He has been a swing tackle and backup. But there’s also Anthony Garcia, a third-round pick last year out of Troy who never saw the field in 2017.
Garcia reportedly had blood clots in his lungs. He dropped a ton of weight, but is back healthy. It seemed like he was selected with the intention of being Solder’s successor. He did lose a lot of development time being out last year. How fast can he make that up, or have Scarnecchia help him make that up?
They also have Cole Croston and Andrew Jelks, undrafted free agent rookies who were signed last year. While Jelks was placed on the non-football injury list, Croston got in a few snaps and enjoyed a full season of learning under Scarnecchia.
So with that as a backdrop, it’ll be interesting to see if the Pats make a move up the board to get McGlinchey or add to their collection with another developmental player.
“When you have Dante, he’s one of the best offensive line coaches in the history of the game, in my opinion,” Woody said. “The Patriots knew what they were doing when they got him back out of retirement. I think he’s tremendous at identifying guys, coaching them up, and getting them ready to go.”
Maybe the Pats don’t have to make such a move. Maybe they can sit tight and wait for Miller, Williams or O’Neill and let Scarnecchia do the rest.
Both Miller and Williams were in Foxboro for official visits.
“If they got the right guy (in the draft), and he’s ready, I could see him starting,” Woody said. “Dante will have whoever it is coached up and ready to go.”