The New England Patriots’ first draft of the post-Bill Belichick era started off with a bang, but it quickly went sideways from there. After Drake Maye was selected third overall by Eliot Wolf and then-head coach Jerod Mayo, the team hit a rough patch: none of the other seven selections have had much of an impact since their arrival in Foxborough.
In fact, only two of them are even left on the roster. One is sixth-round cornerback Marcellas Dial Jr, who we already analyzed as part of our Patriots
scouting report series, the other is an offensive tackle who has played just 10 games so far in his career: third-rounder Caedan Wallace.
Hard facts
Name: Caedan Wallace
Position: Guard/Interior offensive line
Jersey number: 70
Opening day age: 26 (4/18/2000)
Measurements: 6’4 7/8”, 320 lbs, 10 3/4” hand size, 34” arm length, 82 5/8” wingspan, 5.15s 40-yard dash, 7.73s 3-cone drill, 4.78s short shuttle, 31” vertical jump, 9’8” broad jump, 23 bench press reps, 9.75 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2024-) | College: Penn State (2019-23)
A multi-sport athlete growing up, Wallace’s high school career started off at Robbinsville, NJ, before a transfer to The Hun School in Princeton, NJ. The move proved to be a good one: not only did he play some quality football in his three seasons, he also started drawing some serious interest as a four-star guard recruit. Rutgers, Oklahoma, LSU and Michigan were among the teams offering scholarships, but he ultimately decided to commit to Penn State.
Wallace’s career with the Nittany Lions started quietly, but he entered the starting lineup during his 2020 redshirt freshman campaign and never looked back. He ended his college career with 47 in-game appearances and 40 starts at the right tackle position. His fifth and final season before heading off to the NFL saw him get recognized as an honorable All-Big Ten mention.
New England ended up selecting Wallace with the 68th overall pick in the third round of the 2023 draft. He played in six games with two starts during an injury-disrupted rookie campaign, followed by a move from tackle to guard ahead of a four-game sophomore campaign.
Scouting report
Strengths: Wallace offers ideal build from a height/weight/length perspective, and combines it with a natural athletic skillset. He is quick out of his stance and has the speed and lateral mobility to reach his landmarks in zone structures, on reach blocks, or as a pull and screen blocker. When able to keep a steady base, he has shown some good balance and finish. In general, he tries to bring an edge to every battle and will play through the whistle and with aggressive hands. While his in-game opportunities have been limited, his read-and-react skills against line games or on combo blocks are solid.
Weaknesses: Wallace’s hands remain a work in progress entering his third season in the league. His grip strength is unremarkable and his punch timing and placement are inconsistent, preventing him from sustaining blocks. The same is true for his use of his lower half: not the strongest player overall despite his size and willingness, his power and leg work driving defenders off the ball do not do him any favors. Neither do his anchor in pass protection or his use of leverage. When operating in space, meanwhile, he is not the most agile player.
2025 review
Stats: 4 games (0 starts) | 8 offensive snaps (0.6%), 24 special teams snaps (4.4%) | 0 penalties
Season recap: Wallace’s first year in the NFL saw the Patriots try to get him onto the field. However, he was ultimately unable to challenge for a regular starting spot, in part due to an ankle injury forcing him to miss 11 games. Entering his second season fully recovered, the offensive line landscape had changed: with a new coaching staff in town, his services were no longer needed tackle. Instead, during OTAs, Wallace was moved inside to guard — a position he moved to in practice at times at Penn State.
The second-year blocker saw his first game action at his new position in preseason, playing 59 total snaps at left guard. While the sample size was limited, the Patriots apparently liked what they saw and Wallace managed to make the 53-man roster as an emergency option behind starters Jared Wilson and Mike Onwenu as well as top backup Ben Brown.
He spent the entire season in that role, and as a consequence saw limited opportunities on the field. He was active on four occasions, but his only eight offensive snaps came late in a Week 17 blowout win over the Jets. The rest of his in-game reps came as a member of the field goal and extra point protection team. Most of the year, including the entire postseason, Wallace was made a healthy scratch on game day.
2026 preview
Position: Right guard/Left guard | Ability: Depth player/Role player | Contract: Signed through 2027 (2028 UFA)
What will be his role? Even though he entered the NFL as an offensive tackle and spent his entire rookie campaign in that role, the Patriots’ new coaching staff under Mike Vrabel and O-line coach Doug Marrone seems committed to Wallace as a guard. He was a left guard primarily in 2025, but based on offseason workouts seems to have added playing right guard to his responsibilities: he spent all of mandatory minicamp as the top backup at the position.
What is his growth potential? Wallace checks plenty of boxes from a size and athleticism perspective, which could mean that a bright future at guard is ahead of him. Of course, talent alone does not make a starter-caliber player but some more experience could help him further move into that direction — especially with Mike Onwenu’s future beyond the 2026 season unclear.
Does he have positional versatility? Theoretically, Wallace can play both guard spots and both tackle spots. In practice, however, taking use of his tackle background would be an emergency only; his realistic versatility is limited to playing left and right guard as well as on the field goal and extra point protection units.
What is his salary cap situation? Entering the third year of his rookie contract, Wallace’s cap hit stands at $1.65 million. The number is high enough to qualify him for Top 51 status during the offseason and consists of a non-guaranteed $1.34 million base salary as well as $303,782 signing bonus proration.
How safe is his roster spot? The Patriots are unlikely to keep more than six interior offensive linemen on their roster in 2026, and four of those spots are already taken by the likes of Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jared Wilson, Mike Onwenu and Ben Brown. This means that five other players — Wallace, Andrew Rupcich, Mehki Butler, Jacob Rizy, JonDarius Morgan — will be competing for somewhere between zero and two available spots this summer. Wallace appears to have a solid shot based on his spring usage.
Summary: Out of all the non-roster lock backup offensive linemen on the roster, Wallace has the most intriguing profile. He is a former third-round draft pick, has the size and athletic skill you want from your guards, and at 26 is still reasonably young considering he is already entering his third year in the league. Nonetheless, he is under some pressure this season. For him, the question is whether or not he can become a versatile backup this year and stay on track for a potential starting role by 2027. If the answer is yes, he should be on the team come September. If not, however, New England might just decide to give the youngsters at the position a shot over him.
What do you think about Caedan Wallace heading into the 2026 season? Will he prove himself more than an emergency player? Or is the end of the line near? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
