{"id":148566,"date":"2011-05-10T16:41:03","date_gmt":"2011-05-10T16:41:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vip.local\/2011\/05\/10\/state-of-the-position-offensive-line\/"},"modified":"2011-05-10T16:41:03","modified_gmt":"2011-05-10T16:41:03","slug":"state-of-the-position-offensive-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/state-of-the-position-offensive-line\/","title":{"rendered":"State of the Position: Offensive line"},"content":{"rendered":"

State of the Position<\/strong> is a new weekly Foxboro Blog feature that will examine the post-draft status of each position and take a look at what needs still need to be filled before the season opens up.<\/em><\/p>\n

Today we will examine the offensive line.<\/em><\/p>\n

Heading into the draft, nearly every draftnik, fan and even our own Foxboro Blog writers had the Patriots targeting an outside linebacker\/defensive end with their first-round pick.<\/p>\n

However, Bill Belichick went to the other side of the ball and selected Nate Solder, a 6-foot-8 left tackle from Colorado with the 17th<\/sup> pick.<\/p>\n

While he\u2019s still raw, Solder has the ability to be a Pro Bowl-caliber blindside protector for Tom Brady and beyond.<\/p>\n

The selection of Solder would seem to signal the end of the Matt Light era who is expected to demand a multi-year deal for starter money.<\/p>\n

In the fifth round, the Pats made a great value pick and chose Marcus Cannon, a mammoth tackle\/guard who slipped from the second round because of his recent diagnosis of non-Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma.<\/p>\n

Even if he is unable to contribute this season, Cannon should be a starter in 2012 at either guard spot and would add a physical presence to an otherwise small interior line.<\/p>\n

That being said, the biggest question on the offensive line lies at the left guard spot.<\/p>\n

All-Pro Logan Mankins was franchised for the second-straight year, and it is uncertain whether he will play or hold out again.<\/p>\n

If Light is allowed to walk, I think the Pats should and will give consideration to trying to work out a longterm deal with Mankins.<\/p>\n

If he is re-signed, the Patriots could have a potentially dominant line with Solder and Mankins on the left and Cannon and Vollmer on the right.<\/p>\n

With that potential lineup, the team still has good depth with Dan Connolly, Rich Ohrnberger and Ryan Wendell along the interior. Connolly performed well as a starter last year and can play either guard spot. Ohrnberger and Wendell have spent several years in the system and should compete for a backup spot.<\/p>\n

The one position that could be addressed in the offseason would be center.<\/p>\n

Longtime starter Dan Koppen is entering the last year of his contract and I would consider him the weak spot in the line. He should finish out his contract, but I wouldn\u2019t expect him to be brought back.<\/p>\n

Overall, I think the Pats did a great job solidifying their line for the future and turned a potential weakness into a strength.<\/p>\n

State of the Position Grade: B+<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

State of the Position is a new weekly Foxboro Blog feature that will examine the post-draft status of each position…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[547148916],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nState of the Position: Offensive line - The Sports Daily<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/state-of-the-position-offensive-line\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"State of the Position: Offensive line\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/state-of-the-position-offensive-line\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Sports Daily\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-05-10T16:41:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alan Draper\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sportsdailytsd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sportsdailytsd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alan Draper\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/state-of-the-position-offensive-line\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/state-of-the-position-offensive-line\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alan Draper\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2c8aadde2571800d0de74323730df7b5\"},\"headline\":\"State of the Position: Offensive line\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-05-10T16:41:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-05-10T16:41:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/state-of-the-position-offensive-line\/\"},\"wordCount\":436,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Patriots\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2011\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/state-of-the-position-offensive-line\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/state-of-the-position-offensive-line\/\",\"name\":\"State of the Position: Offensive line - 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