The New England Patriots invested two of their four draft picks in the offensive tackle position, despite having one of the top tackle tandems in the league with LT Nate Solder and RT Marcus Cannon. The Patriots gave Cannon a 5-year extension halfway through the 2016 season, but Solder and fellow tackles Cameron Fleming and LaAdrian Waddle projected to be free agents after the 2017 season.
The Patriots wanted to be a year early at the tackle position, rather than a year too late.
New England selected OT Tony Garcia with the 85th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft with the intention of grooming him for a season before possibly inserting him into the starting lineup at left tackle in 2018.