Patriots Insider Says Caleb Lomu NFL Draft Pick 'About As Ideal A Pick' They Could've Made originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

For at least one night, some of the attention in the land of New England Patriots fandom was shifted away from the ongoing controversy surrounding head coach Mike Vrabel.

New England still had business to do Thursday night during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft and traded up to select offensive tackle Caleb Lomu out of Utah with the 28th pick of the night.

Patriots insider Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston praised the addition.

"The Patriots had a glaring need at offensive tackle, a premium position, and were able to land one of the top seven in this draft class with their first pick. The expectation in Foxboro was that they'd be out of luck on the tackle front, so kudos to them for trading up to get the last tackle standing," Perry said, while giving the team an A- for the selection. "A 21-year-old with room to grow -- both physically and as a finisher -- Lomu will need some time to develop, but he'll get exactly that with Morgan Moses and Will Campbell projected to start."

New England's weaknesses on the offensive line were glaringly obvious during its Super Bowl LX loss vs. the Seattle Seahawks.

Protecting MVP runner-up quarterback Drake Maye was also an issue throughout the playoffs and the Patriots took another step toward addressing the problem on Thursday night.

More NFL: Patriots NFL Draft Picks 2026: Full List of Selections From Rounds 1-7