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

Zak Zinter 

Zak Zinter was projected as a late fourth-round pick, but the Browns took him at 85, quite a bit earlier than expected. The 23-year-old is one inch taller than Wallace and four pounds lighter, but his 40-yard time was 0.15 seconds slower.

He didn’t participate in the testing at the combine, but that didn’t deter virtually every team from showing an interest in drafting him. That’s probably why the Browns took him early, as they knew there was a lot of competition for his services. 

Zinter was a member of the Michigan team that won the national championship. During his 2023 season, he played on 677 passing snaps and only allowed two sacks. He only allowed three sacks on the 1,194 passing downs he played throughout his career. Goncalves also received PFF pass-blocking grades over 70.0 in the last two seasons. 

Some evaluators are worried that Zinter isn’t fast enough to react to stunts and blitzes, which may cause him to struggle against interior pass rushers. He can also lose his balance when pass-blocking as he tends to lean forward. However, these are all issues that can be corrected with coaching. 

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