The Patriots watched six offensive tackles come off the board in the first 21 picks of this year’s draft. That left Utah’s Caleb Lomu as the top player available at the position — a surprise to the team’s decision-makers.
It also led New England to getting aggressive and moving up the board.
“Frankly, I was a little surprised that he was still available, and that’s why we decided to move up a little bit,” executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said. “Really excited about this player. He’s young, he’s experienced. He’s athletic. He’s a great kid… Just really, really happy that we were able to acquire him.”
The Patriots entered the draft with a similar expectation of Lomu’s status. After initially scheduling a pre-draft 30 visit at Gillette Stadium, the team ultimately gave up on the idea he would be available late in the first-round and canceled it.
“We actually cancelled his 30 visit. We had one scheduled and just didn’t think he’d factor in for us — we thought he’d be gone,” Wolf said. “His agent’s weren’t too excited about that but they understood. And here we are.”
New England had met with Lomu earlier in the process, including one of his first formal interviews at the NFL Combine — where he impressed with a 4.99-second 40-yard dash with a 32.5-inch vertical leap at 6-foot-6, 313 pounds. The team also had staff at his Pro Day and conducted Zoom meetings in the weeks leading up to the draft.
That groundwork helped lead to the Patriots trading picks No. 31 and No. 125 to the Buffalo Bills to move up and select Lomu at No. 28 overall.
Now in New England, Lomu joins a depth chart that includes Will Campbell and Morgan Moses at offensive tackle. While Wolf confirmed Campbell will remain the team’s left tackle, the athletic Lomu projects as an immediate swing option and potential successor to 35-year-old Morgan Moses on the right side.
“Caleb has some versatility,” Wolf said. “We feel like some of the pro day workouts he did were on the right side, and we were comfortable with that. He’s very athletic, so I don’t think either side will be a problem for him.”
“Obviously he has to come in and earn a role somewhere — but he has the athletic ability and talent and strength and upside to kind of play anywhere on the line… Big athletes like this are hard to come by, especially later in the first round like this.”