What picking Caedan Wallace in the NFL Draft means for the Patriots

The Nittany Lions bookend got the call in the third round at No. 68 overall.

As the 2024 NFL draft hit the third round, the New England Patriots hit the line.

The war room in Foxborough selected Penn State tackle Caedan Wallace at pick No. 68 overall on Friday night, continuing the offensive trend.

Here’s an initial look into why and what’s ahead.

A 40-game Nittany Lions starter at right tackle

A redshirt senior who turned 24 midway through April, Wallace made 40 starts at right tackle during his Penn State career. He allowed two sacks across his final two falls with the Nittany Lions, according to Pro Football Focus, after being charted for giving up a handful in 2021.

The All-Big Ten honorable mention earned the Lion’s Pride Outstanding Senior Player Award along with tight end Theo Johnson. And following a win over Iowa that spanned 45:27 of possession as well as 215 rushing yards, he was named the coaching staff’s Offensive Player of the Week.

Wallace served as the bookend opposite eventual New York Jets first-round pick Olumuyiwa Fashanu and attended the East-West Shrine Bowl.

Bringing long arms, big hands and athleticism

At the NFL Scouting Combine, Wallace measured in at 6-foot-5, 314 pounds with 34-inch arms and 10 3/4-inch hands.

To go with the length and punch, he ran the 40-yard dash in 5.15 seconds while adding a 31-inch vertical and 9-foot-8 broad jump. Those marks brought a Relative Athletic Score of 8.23 for a former four-star recruit who competed in shot put and discus while in high school.

The background could bring flexibility to kick inside or to the blindside at the NFL level. But the offensive line was at the forefront for the Patriots after taking North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye at No. 3 overall and Washington wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk at No. 37 overall.

A run on offensive tackles

Offensive tackles became a hot spot in the draft’s second round, with Houston’s Patrick Paul, Notre Dame’s Blake Fisher, Washington’s Roger Rosengarten and BYU’s Kingsley Suamataia all leaving the board. Then TCU’s Brandon Coleman left it, too, as the night turned to the third.

New England soon filled out the card for Wallace, who was ranked No. 18 among tackle prospects on Arif Hasan’s Consensus Draft Board.

Wallace took a pre-draft visit to Gillette Stadium. The incoming rookie now joins a position that also includes Mike Onwenu, Chukwuma Okorafor, Calvin Anderson, Conor McDermott, Vederian Lowe, Tyrone Wheatley Jr. and Andrew Stueber.