5 offensive linemen the Patriots could have drafted instead of Caedan Wallace

Kiran Amegadjie 

Kiran Amegadjie is another versatile offensive lineman the Patriots could have benefitted from adding to their offensive roster. The 22-year-old played left tackle and right guard while at Yale. The Bears selected the Illinois native with the 75th pick, and he might be the most important pick Ryan Poles made this year. 

Amegadjie is about the same size as Wallace, just 9 pounds heavier. But he has longer arms and ran a faster 40-yard dash. During his time at Yale, Amegadjie was named First Team All-Ivy League in both 2022 and 2023. In 2023, Phil Steele also named him the offensive lineman in the Ivy League.  

The former Hinsdale High School student is powerful enough to quickly move defenders out of his way and mobile enough to get to the second level. Linebackers don’t stand a chance once Amegadjie gets their hands on them. Amegadjie’s footwork and intelligence mean he’s a real problem for defenders when he pull blocks, even if there’s no defender in his way, he will find one to block. 

Some evaluators questioned Yale's playing in the FCS rather than the FBS. The 2022 FCS All-American Amegadjie dominated opponents at that level, though, so he will be more than capable of stepping up to the NFL level.

Others voiced concerns that Yale ran an RPO-heavy offense during Amegadjie’s career. But that only means he has more experience in run blocking than most, and while the Patriots won’t be running an RPO offense, they should run more than most offenses.  

The final question over Amegadjie surrounded a quad injury, which cut short his 2023 season. But he suffered that in October and has another four months before the season begins.