Patriots draft profile: Caleb Lomu is the right tackle of the future

Experience

Colleges: Utah (2023-25)

Career statistics: 27 games (24 starts) | 1,620 offensive snaps, 24 special teams snaps | 25 quarterback pressures surrendered (2 sacks, 8 hits, 15 hurries) | 5 penalties (incl. 00 declined/offset)

Accolades: First-team All-Big 12 (2025), Freshman All-American (2024)

Playing football since his childhood, Lomu attended Highland High School in his hometown of Gilbert, AZ. He saw action at both tackle and guard, and as a senior was named the top offensive lineman in the state. Eventually, he was rated as a four-star recruit and received scholarship offers from multiple high-profile programs such as Michigan, Oregon or USC. However, he opted to join Utah.

In three seasons as a Ute, Lomu saw action in 27 games with 24 starts. He redshirted as a freshman after appearing in three games, and from his second season on was a fixture on the team’s offensive line: he started 12 games each in 2024 and 2025, earning freshman All-American and first-team All-Big 12 honors in those respective seasons.

Lomu ended his college career early by opting out of Utah’s appearance in the Las Vegas bowl in 2025 and deciding to skip his final two years of eligibility to enter the NFL.

Draft profile

Pick: 1-28 | Consensus big board: No. 28 | Patriots meeting: Combine

Strengths: Lomu combines good height and adequate length with a buildable frame as well as an explosive skillset out of his stance and good range as a pass protector. He has impressive patience in 1-on-1s against pass rushers and the grip strength to keep them engaged. He is nimble on his feet without compromising his balance or foundation, allowing him to mirror defenders and perform quick kickbacks to force them wide. He also can recover quickly while staying level, and has a good feel for where pressure is coming from; he adjusts his position without much effort. A fluid a athlete, he is an effective second-level blocker who quickly gets to his landmarks in the run game. His quick feet allow him to be used on a variety of reach and pull blocks.

Weaknesses: More tall than big, Lomu does not stand out from a size perspective and ranks only in the 23rd percentile in arm length and in the 14th percentile in hand size. He has quick feet but oftentimes takes some rather uncoordinated steps, something that is also true for his hand placement. He is a good pass protector, but not on the same level in the run game. His physicality and aggression blocking the run us uneven, and he might have to bulk up and add more core strength in order to consistently move bodies on the ground.

Patriots preview

What will be his role? Lomu played left tackle in college, but the expectation is that he will start his career as a swing tackle behind current Patriots starters Will Campbell and Morgan Moses. As such, he will enter the lineup in case of injury higher up on the depth chart as well as in select packages as a sixth offensive lineman/jumbo tight end. Overall, however, his playing time share as a rookie will not be on the same level as it was in his final two years at Utah.

Does he have positional versatility? Even though he played a handful of snaps at right tackle and as an inline tight end in college, his overall versatility is limited. Lomu lined up at left tackle on almost 98% of his offensive snaps and also was a relative non-factor on special teams; he did not play in the kicking game as a junior and only 24 total snaps in his Utah career.

What is his growth potential? Lomu has the build and movement skills to become an impact player in the NFL, but he needs to keep filling out his frame and become stronger in the run game. That strength includes physicality; he has to learn to adopt a more aggressive approach in order to compete on a down-by-down basis. If he can do all those things, he has a multi-year career as a starter ahead of him.

Why the Patriots? With Morgan Moses having turned 35 in March, the end of his career is near. While he will be back this season — he is currently a participant in the Patriots’ voluntary offseason workout program — the team needs a longterm replacement. Lomu can be just that while simultaneously offering some much-needed depth at a position that lost Vederian Lowe in free agency.

What does it mean for the rest of the Patriots draft? The Patriots checked one big box of needs, but that leaves some others to be addressed. The next prominent area is the defensive edge, which offers multiple viable options in the second round, as well as tight end and linebacker. There also is a chance New England adds another offnesive lineman later in the draft.

What does it mean for the offensive tackle depth chart? Lomu is obviously a lock to be on the Patriots’ roster, and the current third option at the offensive tackle position. This means that the depth OTs — Marcus Bryant, James Hudson, Sebastian Gutierrez and Lorenz Metz — will be competing for what projects to be no more than one open roster spot this summer.

One-sentence verdict: Lomu is a high-upside developmental tackle who joins a perfect situation in New England, where he can sit behind Morgan Moses for a year while building up his physique and learning the ins and outs of right tackle play.

For more information about Caleb Lomu and the rest of this year’s class of prospects, please take a look at Adam’s 2026 NFL Draft Guide.

Also, what do you think about Lomu as a Patriots draft pick? Do you like him? Would you have made the pick as well? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.