Latest Mock Draft Has Patriots Protecting Drake Maye

Now is the time for mock drafts in the NFL world, and for the New England Patriots, there's plenty of avenues to go with their first round pick. Do they want to bolster their pass rush, or will they prefer to add someone on the offensive side of the ball to either protect Drake Maye or catch passes from him?

According to ESPN's Field Yates, offensive line is the pick. In his latest mock draft, he has the Patriots selecting Utah offensive tackle/guard Caleb Lomu with the 31st overall selection. Drafting a big boy up front with their first pick for the third time in five seasons isn't exactly the sexiest pick, and certainly won't help jerseys, but it will help with a major hole that was exposed in the Patriots' Super Bowl loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

"The Patriots' run to the Super Bowl was impressive, but it underscored the team's need to beef up quarterback Drake Maye's protection. Lomu, who took over at left tackle for Utah in 2024 when Fano moved over to the right side, could slide in at tackle or guard for New England," he wrote.

Who Is Caleb Lomu?

Lomu was an All-Big 12 selection this season at left tackle, a position that is already filled up by last year's first round choice Will Campbell. Head coach Mike Vrabel is adamant at keeping Campbell at his natural position (instead of moving him to left guard), which would likely force Lomu into two spots: right tackle or left guard.

"When you sign up to play left tackle, you sign up to play corner, you sign up to play quarterback, you sign up to be the head coach, you get judged, you get scrutinized," Vrabel said in his final press conference of the year. "Will's 22 years old. He's our left tackle. He'll get better, he'll get stronger. There were moments where he played well, moments where he blocked the guy. There's plays he'd like to have back. We're not moving Will to guard, to center, to tight end or anywhere else."

The versatile lineman was a former four-star recruit was named the Utes' starter at protecting the quarterback's blindside by the end of his redshirt freshman season. Lomu (6-foot-6, 308 lbs) didn't allow a sack all season and was part of a Utah offense that bolstered the second-best run game in all of FBS.

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) fumbles as he is sacked by Seattle Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall (58) in the second half in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

For Lomu to immediately make the starting lineup in New England, though, it would require some changes up front from the 2025 starting unit. Rookie Jared Wilson was the left guard all season, but his natural position is at center. Would the team move off Garrett Bradbury, who would save around $5 million in cap space if released? What about Morgan Moses, the 34-year-old right tackle who could potentially call it a career? Taking Lomu at this spot would likely mean the Patriots feel comfortable with him for the long term, and that would ideally mean getting him starting reps as quickly as possible.

Boosting the offensive line might be priority number one for the Patriots this offseason. Maye was sacked 21 times in four postseason games, the most by any quarterback in a single postseason run. In the team's 29-13 loss to Seattle, Maye was under duress all night and the offensive line — mainly Campbell and Wilson — struggled to keep him upright. The Patriots have a roster that has shown enough to be able to compete all year, but with some minor flaws that need to be cleaned up.

Like Yates said, adding to the offensive line and letting their franchise quarterback operate upright should be the focus of how the Patriots attack the first round of the draft next April.

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