Even though they have two starting tackles on their roster, the New England Patriots entered Thursday night with a definitive need at the position. Morgan Moses, who started all 21 games at right tackle last season, turned 35 in March, which means his days in the NFL are definitively numbered.
And so, finding a replacement was high up on the Patriots’ list entering the 2026 draft. And with the 28th overall selection, following a short trade up the board, they picked their guy: Caleb Lomu out of Utah.
We have spoken at great length about Lomu so far, from what his selection means, to his strengths and weaknesses, to his impact on the rest of the roster and his position group in particular, to why the Patriots might have been drawn to him. So, with all that out of the way and the focus quickly shifting to the second and third rounds on Friday, let’s clean out the notebook from what was a busy Day 1.
Lomu spent three seasons at Utah, starting 24 games and playing over 1,600 offensive snaps. A majority of those came at left tackle; he actually was one of the few pure left tackles in the first round of this year’s draft.
The Patriots, of course, have a left tackle. Will Campbell was drafted fourth overall in 2025 to serve as quarterback Drake Maye’s blindside protector — a role he held throughout his rookie campaign and will resume as a sophomore as well.
So, why was Lomu picked if he is not a natural right tackle? Because the Patriots believe he can be.
“We feel like he has the athletic ability and talent to — obviously has to come in and earn a role somewhere — but he has the athletic ability, talent, strength and upside to kind of play anywhere on the line,” executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said on Thursday. “We’re just really thrilled. Big athletes like this are hard to come by, especially later in the in the first round like this. I don’t want to set him up for any wild comparisons or anything like that, but just really, really happy that we were able to acquire him.”
Wolf added that the Patriots also believe Lomu’s athletic abilities — he posted a 9.77 Relative Athletic Score in the pre-draft process — would allow him to move inside to guard. However, for the time being, the plan is to have him serve as the eventual bookend to Campbell.
Of course, that will likely not happen right away. With Morgan Moses still entrenched into the starting right tackle role, Lomu likely will have to go the Nate Solder route: like the 2011 first-round pick, he will start as a swing tackle and jumbo tight end.
For the 21-year-old, none of that is a problem as long as he gets to play.
“I just want to play,” he said. “Whatever position’s open, I just want to get on the field and get out and play.”
What kind of player are the Patriots getting in Lomu? On a conference call with the local media after getting picked, he gave some insight into his play and what he would bring to New England’s offensive line.
“I’m a very technical player,” he said. “I study the game really hard. I like to be very prepared out there so I know what I’m going to do, what to expect, so I’m able to move faster and play faster. As an offensive lineman, too, you’ve got to be mean and aggressive, so that’s part of my game as well.
“But I love to be smart out there. Football’s a very physical game, but it’s also a very mental game. Having that right mindset being on the field, it’s just as important. So, that’s how I make sure I focus on that, and I feel like that’s what makes me a very good football player.”
Traditionally, the Patriots are quick to introduce their first-round draft pick to the media. Last year, Will Campbell arrived at Gillette Stadium on Friday for a photo op and quick Q&A with the beat writers.
However, the schedule was changed this year and no date for the introduction has been set yet. The team did tentatively announce Thursday, May 7, as a potential opportunity for Lomu to be presented to the world; rookie minicamp is set to begin the following day.
With offensive linemen starting to come off the board quickly in the middle of the first round, the Patriots knew they couldn’t sit around and No. 31 and hope for one of them to fall into their lap. If they wanted their guy, they needed to be proactive.
“There are still some good players at the tackle and guard as well,” said Eliot Wolf, “but we felt like there was a drop off and we felt like just the ‘best player available’ type situation for us at that point.”
And so, Wolf called his counterpart in Buffalo — Bills general manager Brandon Beane — to make a trade. The Patriots would move from the 31st to the 28th spot and give up the 125th overall selection in the fourth round in return. As a look at the various draft value charts shows, this was a pretty fair deal for the two teams involved:
The Patriots might not be done trading up in the draft either. As Wolf said on Thursday night, his team is not opposed to using its current capital — nine remaining picks between Rounds 2 and 7 — to further manipulate the board to its liking.