The New England Patriots had a frustrating Week 3 performance, losing 3-24 to the New York Jets Thursday night. The Patriots entered the game with an offensive line dilemma, as PFF ranked him as the worst offensive line unit in the NFL. The offensive had to start their third player at left tackle since Chukwuma Okorafor stepped away from football, and Vederian Lowe was ruled out with a knee injury. Their rookie got his first career start.
The New England Patriots third-round pick got his first career NFL start
The Patriots drafted Caedan Wallace 68th overall because the front office believed his athleticism would allow him to transition into a left tackle. Wallace exclusively played at right tackle with the Penn State Nittany Lions, starting 40 games. He spent the offseason working out at both positions but couldn’t carve out a starting role. However, he got the nod in Week 3.
The New England Patriots rookie had a shaky performance
Caedan Wallace did not have a great starting debut and couldn’t finish the game because he suffered a knee injury in the fourth quarter. Wallace allowed three pressures, one hurry, one hit, and 0.5 sacks, and had a 44.5 pass block, a 50.6 run block, and a 42.3 PFF grade. He was penalized three times due to an illegal formation on their second drive (declined) and two holding penalties on their sixth drive (one accepted and one declined).
Their other offensive lineman weren’t any better. The unit allowed 22 pressures, 15 hits, and seven sacks on 35 dropbacks per Next Gen Stats.
Can you really blame him?
Caedan Wallace was put in an unfavorable position last night because left tackle is a new position for him, he is a right tackle, and Eliot Wolf failed to address the left tackle position in free agency even though they had the most cap space. Wolf let Trent Brown walk without an offer, cut Conor McDermott, opted against signing a starting caliber player, and signed Chukwuma Okorafor, a career right tackle, expecting him to play left tackle. Jacoby Brissett wouldn’t get killed on virtually every dropback if they did a better job handling their offensive line.
This isn’t a knock on Wallace as a player, and this doesn’t mean he can’t have a successful career in the NFL. He is still young but is better suited on the right side since he’s more familiar there. New England should sign a free-agent left tackle right away. Notable free agents include David Bakhtiari, Charles Leno Jr., Donovan Smith, and D.J. Humphries.
Do it for the sake of Jacoby Brissett and Caedan Wallace’s development.
