INDIANAPOLIS — It appears Nate Solder will be playing in 2018, but still unclear if that will be with the Patriots.
The 29-year-old will be a free agent and with how valuable left tackles are in the NFL, he likely will gain a lot of interest on the open market. Solder has played all eight of his NFL seasons in New England and it would seem the Patriots would like him back, but anything can happen on the open market.
If he does move on, there isn't a natural replacement on the roster and New England probably wouldn't want to spend big money on one via free agency, so then there's the draft.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, it isn't a very deep class of tackles, so if the Patriots select one, it will need to be with one of their first few picks, maybe even the first round.
Two players stand out as potential Patriots — Mike McGlinchey out of Notre Dame and Kolton Miller out of UCLA.
Miller is actually drawing comparisons to Solder this week. He broke the broad jump record an offensive lineman with a jump of 10'1" on Friday, showing off his athletic ability. Solder was a tight end in college, so more athletic than most tackles in his draft class. Solder ran a 4.96-second 40, while Miller clocked in at 4.98 seconds in his first attempt and 4.91 seconds in his second attempt.
The UCLA product has climbed the rankings among tackles of late, and according to NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry, he had a formal interview with the Patriots.
"Yeah, it's feeling good," Miller said on Thursday. "Getting a little recognition, man. I'm hoping to get more recognition Friday. I'm really trying to prove myself."
The other big name is McGlinchey, who is actually Matt Ryan's first-cousin.
"It's kind of been the "Mike McGlinchey, Matt Ryan's first cousin" since I was in high school," he said. "But I'm very thankful for that. Matt has guided me every step of the way, whether he knew it or not. And just watching the way Matt goes about his business, the way that he works, the way that people respect him is something that I've always worked for. He's been my football hero every since I was a little kid going to his BC games in fourth, fifth, sixth grade, and when he got drafted into the pros when I was in eighth grade or whatever, we all went up for the trip and it was at that moment that I said, you know what, I want to do that too.
"And everything that I've ever learned from him has been great. He's obviously a member of my family and I love him for that too. But the experience and the values that he's taught me have been invaluable, whether he's said things directly to me or not."
Standing 6-foot-8, 312 pounds, some people want him to put on even more weight to help his core strength. Even 312 pounds is a big difference than the 260 pounds he weighed when he signed to play at Notre Dame.
While ideally the Patriots would bring Solder back, if the Patriots choose to go the draft route, these are two good options high in the draft.
