It's never a great sign when the head coach is defending his first-round NFL Draft pick, but that's exactly what Bill Beichick was doing Thursday night after the New England Patriots took OT Nate Solder with the No. 17 overall selection. 

"I think he'll be able to contribute for us and we'll work him at left tackle," Belichick said last night. "He's played left tackle and I think that will be his position in the National Football League. How good it is and all that, I mean, that's a whole other story. His position is the one he's been playing, but it's still obviously a different level of play and his techniques and there are a lot of things that he'll have to improve on. But he's a smart guy, hard-working kid, he's already graduated, he's a good worker, so hopefully he'll take the coaching that he gets from our staff and Dante (Scarnecchia) and be able to improve and develop at a position that he has some experience at."