The New England Patriots have a number of holes to fill on their roster, and with nine picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, they will likely fill most of those holes between April 24th and 26th. This is the second in a series of articles that will examine players at six positions of need (WR, Tackle, Interior O-Line, Edge, Tight End, and Running Back) that should be available for the Patriots in each round they have a pick (1-4, 2-38, 3-69, 4-106, 5-144, and 7-217).
This article will focus on offensive tackle. It is arguably the team’s biggest area of need, and if they expect Drake Maye to make progress in 2025, he needs to be upright for more the season then he was last year.
21 Years Old – 6’6 – 324 Pounds
Campbell is not the consensus first tackle of the board. Unlike last years draft, which featured a future Hall of Famer in Joe Alt, 2025 has no sure thing. That is why the Patriots would be better off trading down than taking any blind side protector with the fourth overall pick. Even if Campbell doesn’t have the most upside of any of the tackles this year, he is the most polished, which means he is the most ready to help immediately.
Campbell’s PFF Grade from last year (72.2) is down from 2023 (82.8), but he was more than effective. In 1,594 pass blocking snaps throughout his career, he only allowed 32 hurries and 4 sacks. Some may scoff at his arm length (32 and 5/8 inches), but it hasn’t prevented him from being an elite pass blocker in college football’s toughest division. There’s no reason to believe it will affect him at the pro level either.
21 Years Old – 6’5 – 311 pounds
Should the Patriots wait until round two to get a tackle, there are still a few good names available. Unlike Campbell, Connerly improved in 2024. He only allowed 2 sacks in his college career, and after allowing 14 hurries on 540 pass snaps in 2024, Connerly cut that number in half (6) last year (523 snaps). He is better in pass protection than he is in the run game, but that should be OK with New England’s second-year quarterback.
He is mean and aggressive, but sometimes that aggressiveness gets the better of him, and he ends up reaching when pass rushers hesitate in the rush against him. Thankfully he has longer arms than Campbell (33 and 1/2 inches). Technique can be taught, but talent and size can’t be. Connerly is loaded with the latter.
21 Years Old – 6’6 – 317 pounds
The downside in drafting Williams, is that he’s only played right tackle in his career, but it’s the third round, and beggars can’t be choosers. He is a one-year starter, and in 561 pass snaps last season, he allowed 18 hurries and 5 sacks. That’s the negative, but the positive pops on film. He is exceptionally strong. He is rarely overpowered, and excels in the run game as well as the passing game.
Williams is a raw prospect, and could be an above average tackle for a decade if he continues to develop. He might be a staple of the offensive line down the road, but the immediate future would not look great for New England if he is a day one starter.
21 Years Old – 6’6 – 319 Pounds
Rivers started his career with the Hurricanes as a guard, moved to left tackle in 2023, and last year split time between the two positions. This kind of versatility would be appreciated in New England, as he could play outside, or worst case scenario, he moves in and Mike Onwenu moves out. He’s allowed six total sacks and 22 hurries on 1,213 pass blocking snaps.
Once the picks get into the triple digits, teams are just looking to find gold under rock. Rivers could be that for the Patriots. Most likely it won’t be at tackle, but given their need, he will get reps there. Rivers could excel at guard, and be a good rotation player for the team, like Sidy Sow.
24 Years Old – 6’6 – 315 Pounds
Brown was a 4-star high school recruit before signing with Wisconsin. He played three seasons in Madison before he was dismissed for striking a teammate in practice. He transferred to Kansas where played exclusively right tackle for the Jayhawks. He had a PFF Grade in 2024 of 82.5, allowing just 6 hurries and no sacks in 293 pass blocking snaps.
The incident in Wisconsin may turn off some teams, but teams with old school mentality, who like mean and aggressive players might gravitate to it. Dan Campbell and Mike Vrabel might love a guy like this, and if they can channel that rage, they may have a monster on their hands.
23 Years Old – 6’8 – 341 Pounds
Pierce is a mountain of a man and has played exclusively left tackle the past two seasons at Rutgers. Just because Bill Belichick isn’t in New England anymore, doesn’t mean the team is any less in love with the Scarlet Knights. Last year Pierce had a PFF Grade of 85.1 and over the last two seasons, allowed just two sacks on 804 passing snaps.
Pierce is as slow as he is big, and may not be best suited against the NFL’s speed rushers. He may be a better fit at left tackle, and his true genius would be in the running game. This may not be Drake Maye’s first choice, but it might be Rhamondre Stevenson’s, and a happy running back makes life easier for a young quarterback.
There’s no doubt the Patriots need help at tackle, and it would be an absolute shock if they didn’t address it in the first 38 picks.
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