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."
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