Bedard: One personnel move the Patriots nailed? Trent Brown over Nate Solder

Let's be honest: The Patriots' 2018 offseason will not be included on Bill Belichick's Hall of Fame plaque.

At best, the draft replenished the young depth on the team for whenever The Transition takes place — that's if the first-year players outside of Sony Michel, J.C. Jackson and Keion Crossen can ever get healthy and take the field.

At worst, the whiffs in free agency, trade and the draft ruined any shot the Patriots had at winning one or multiple titles in the final year(s) of Tom Brady's career.

Six of the team's nine draft picks have at least spent time on injured reserve, including top pick Isaiah Wynn and second-round selection Duke Dawson.

Only one of the Patriots' seven free-agent signings actually suited up for the team, and that lone player (Adrian Clayborn) hasn't come close to living up to expectations.

On the trade front, the Patriots did reasonably well getting Jason McCourty for basically nothing, got marginal return on Cordarrelle Patterson for a fifth-round pick, whiffed on Josh Gordon for a fifth and then swung like Manny Machado against Chris Sale by shipping a third-round pick for Danny Shelton, who hasn't even adequately taken up space at times to this point. (Note: I know they got other picks in some of these deals but ... please. Let's be serious about this.)

I don't think Belichick or Nick Caserio are in the running for NFL Executives of the Year this season.

But there's little doubt they completely knocked one deal out of the park: trading a third-round pick to the 49ers for left tackle Trent Brown and a fifth-round pick. Considering some of the hysteria that went on around here after Solder quickly was signed away by the Giants, that's nothing to sniff at.

When Solder landed a four-year, $62 million contract ($34.8 million in full guarantees) people panicked about Brady's blindside and immediately put the left tackle spot at No. 1 on the Patriots' to-do list in the offseason.

And even after the trade for the unheralded Brown -- who had most of his experience at right tackle -- the drafting of Wynn and the free-agent signings of Matt Tobin and Ulrick John had critics ready to pounce on another Belichick personnel miscalculation.

But then, a funny thing happened. Brown came in, basically grabbed the starting spot early in camp and has quietly — the best compliment you can pay an offensive lineman — gone about his business of being an effective left tackle.

As for the inevitable comparison to Solder, it's been Brown in a walk if you look at the stats. Basically, Brown has allowed half the pressures Solder did in his final season.

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Note: The stats for Brown and Solder in '17 are my own. Solder's stats from this season are from PFF, so it's hard to make a direct comparison.

Obviously, Solder has been the better run blocker — he's elite there for the position — but that's not a surprise. He's built much more like a tight end than Brown, who is just a massive human being and has difficulty getting the same knee bend as Solder. But considering the Patriots have four "plus" run blockers (Shaq Mason, Marcus Cannon, David Andrews, Joe Thuney) at the other line spots, Brown's performance has been more than adequate.

When it comes to pass blocking, the calling card for a left tackle, Brown has been the much more efficient player in that area, at least when comparing Solder's final Patriots' season to Brown this year.

"Yeah, Trent’s done a good job for us," said Bill Belichick. "He learned a new offense. (He) has played left tackle before, but has played right tackle more recently, so the footwork obviously is the opposite, at least initially. But he’s done a good job and certainly is a big, powerful player that can do a lot of things that can help us at that position."

When you factor in cost to the equation, this is where Belichick and Caserio won big-time. Brown is counting just $1.9 million against the Patriots' cap this season (1.1 percent). Solder has a cap number of $10 million for the Giants, or 5.6 percent of their cap. He balloons to $17 million the next two seasons and 8.9 percent of New York's cap.

The question now: What will happen at the position next season?

Obviously, Brown has played well enough to stick around. But he's heading into unrestricted free agency. Looking at the available free agents, Brown is by far the best available left tackle. There are also plenty of teams looking for help at the tackle spot, including Cleveland, Houston, Jacksonville, Denver, Minnesota, Carolina and Arizona. All of those teams -- except the Jaguars and Vikings -- are projected to have more cap space than the Patriots.

In other words, New England is again in a position where it will have to pay through the nose for a left tackle. The Patriots will stay involved with Brown, but it's unlikely he returns at this point. With the season he's had and being so close to free agency, it would be a huge upset if his agent Drew Rosenhaus allowed him to take a team-friendly deal without testing the market.

New England didn't draft Wynn 23rd overall for him to play guard over the balance of his career — he was very much part of the left tackle equation before his injury. It's just that Brown was better.

"Whatever was the best fit for our team is what we always want to do," said Josh McDaniels of the offensive line situation. "It ended up playing out this way. Isaiah's injury – certainly, we were all disappointed when that happened. But Trent has done a good job in any role that we’ve asked him to play, and he’s settled in nicely over there on the left side and embraced everything we’ve asked him to do since he’s been here.

"So, I wouldn’t say we were worried about anything. We just always go into everything with an open mind and try to get the guys to play the positions that they can have the most success doing. Whatever’s best for the team, that’s what we try to get done."

There's a chance Cannon, who has dealt with injury issues and inconsistent play since he received his $32.5-million contract extension in '16, could be released next year. But that's a long shot. It's much more likely the Patriots open '19 with Wynn at left tackle and Cannon on the right side.

Wynn and Solder both have contracts through 2021. Wynn, on a rookie deal, will have a cumulative cap number of $11.4 million from '18-21. Solder's will be $62 million.

The Patriots won this year turning the page on Solder because of Brown's performance. It will likely be up to Wynn to determine that next year.