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          If left tackle slides down board, would Patriots consider a trade up?

          • Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterMar 24, 2018, 09:00 AM
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              Mike Reiss is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the New England Patriots. Reiss has covered the Patriots since 1997 and joined ESPN in 2009. In 2019, he was named Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. You can follow Reiss on Twitter at @MikeReiss.
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          Covering some hot topics around the New England Patriots in mailbag form:

          Greg, if they feel a strong long-term replacement for Nate Solder is sliding within their range, I could see that type of move. It would be similar to the 2012 draft, when they made two moves up the board -- to go get Chandler Jones at No. 21 and then Dont'a Hightower at 25. So when sitting at pick No. 31, I'd say it's going to be hard to go up much further than 10 spots without sacrificing too much draft capital. One thing the Patriots are probably cognizant of is that they only made four draft picks last year after having averaged nine in recent seasons, and having back-to-back small draft classes isn't ideal. So they don't want to give away too much.

          Ian, Tony Garcia's primary background has been at left tackle at Troy, where in his senior year in 2016 he did not allow a sack in more than 900 offensive snaps. He had been credited with 70 knockdown blocks that season. In all, he started 42 games at left tackle at Troy and was considered to have outstanding athleticism coming out of college.

          Steve, the Patriots didn't play much without starting left tackle Nate Solder last season; he was on the field for 97.5 percent of the snaps. But they had to tap both reserve tackles -- Cameron Fleming and LaAdrian Waddle -- because starting right tackle Marcus Cannon missed half the season with an ankle injury. They each competed well in his place on the right side, and offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia referred to both of them as starting-caliber players who just found themselves behind two very good blockers.

          Mike, here are a few links of note from stories on the topic: 1. Senior Bowl director Phil Savage breaks down four possibilities for the Patriots; 2. NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock noted that there are possibly 10 quarterbacks who could be picked in the first four rounds, which is more than the norm. Princeton's Chad Kanoff is another later-round option that might be worthy of consideration.

          Martellus Bennett announced his retirement Friday night, and my sense with James Harrison is that if it happens, it would be later in the process. I don't believe there is great urgency on either side at this point.

          Joe, in last week's mailbag, the topic was mentioned by someone asking about a specific trade involving Gronkowski. So you're not alone. My feeling is that the Patriots are better with Gronkowski, and Gronkowski is better with the Patriots. I'd expect that continues to be the case in 2018.

          Craig, according to Miguel Benzan, who does a great job monitoring the team's salary cap, the club will need between $2.2 million and $2.7 million to sign its draft class. So they're in good shape from that perspective, and they won't be forced to tweak other contracts to create room.

          Considering that coach Bill Belichick has made 61 draft-day trades, chances are these won't be the picks that the Patriots end up with, but here is what they currently own:

          First round (31)

          Second round (43)

          Second round (63)

          Third round (95)

          Fourth round (136)

          Sixth round (210)

          Seventh round (219)