https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T0U__4WNog
After months of speculation about needs and wants, potential trades and fits, the Patriots finally cut through all the noise and made their first selection of the 2018 NFL Draft, selecting offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn.
With most of Patriots nation wanting linebacker Rashaan Evans, the Titans jumped ahead of the Patriots and selecting him one pick before the Pats took Wynn. Who knows if the Pats would’ve even selected him, but it’s hard not to think Mike Vrabel and Jon Robinson thought Evans could be Bill Belichick’s target.
So now we get Wynn, which has a lot of layers to it. First is that he checks every offensive lineman box you could want except one big one — size. He’s athletic and mean, versatile and experienced, but he’s just 6’3″, almost unheard of for an NFL left tackle and that’s why most projections had him sliding inside to guard. Still, there are plenty out there who believe Wynn will compete to stay at left tackle and that could be very helpful to the Patriots.
But with starters Shaq Mason and Joe Thuney returning it’s hard to see Wynn stepping in and dethroning either of them immediately. But with Mason entering the last year of his deal, today’s stability can easily turn to next year’s need. Wynn will contribute one way or another, sooner or later.
Of course the narrative had shifted away from the offensive line in recent weeks, despite losing both starter Nate Solder and solid backup Cam Fleming, and now that’s out the window, confirming a number of points that get confirmed every draft: Drafting for fit not need is very real and Bill Belichick doesn’t care how badly you want Lamar Jackson.
In a bubble, Wynn really is a perfect Patriot fit as far as how he plays the game. The fact that the Pats have had success with Shaq Mason, an undersized lineman himself, bodes well for Wynn’s potential. Forget about replacing Solder, Wynn gives the Pats a swing lineman who could play any spot on the line and play it technically well and with a salty attitude. That is worth a ton to them even if he’s not protecting Tom Brady or whoever else’s blindside for the next decade.
No matter who else they draft at this point it’s clear that the left tackle position will be a fairly wide open position battle, a strange development at a position where the Pats have started just two players over the last 17 years. Wynn should inject the offensive line group with a nice shot of everything Dante Scarnecchia loves having at his disposal.