FOXBOROUGH - There were 7 tackles that were earmarked for the first round. The Patriots made a minor move up the board (trading #31 and #125 to the Bills) and got the last one remaining, taking Caleb Lomu with the 28th overall selection in round one. That they got him at this stage of the draft was unexpected. In fact, the Pats canceled his 30 visit.
“Frankly, I was a little surprised that he was still available,” Eliot Wolf told us shortly after the Pats made the pick. “That’s why we decided to move up a little bit. We’re excited to add him.”
“It was such a surreal feeling,” Lomu said over Zoom, admitting he went blank for a second. “It’s something I’ve been waiting for my entire life.”
Lomu is just a puppy. 21 years of age, a redshirt sophomore coming out of Utah. He started for two years as the Utes' left tackle, while the higher-drafted Spencer Fano (9th overall to the Cleveland Browns) manned the right side. That begs the question: where is he going to play in New England?
“Will’s the left tackle,” Wolf declared, noting that Lomu did do some pre-draft work on the right side. “He's very athletic, so I don't think either side will be a problem for him.”
“I just want to play,” Lomu said when asked about working at right tackle. “Whatever positions open. I just want to get on the field and play. Will (Campbell) already sent me a text. I haven't been able to respond yet, but you know, I love that: being able to come into a room and they just drafted him last year. Two guys who are going to be able to learn (together).”
Lomu is not the most powerful dude. He hovered around 305 pounds in college. He got up to around 312-314 for the Combine and told us he’s been training at that weight for weeks now. That’s probably going to have to change as a pro (320-325?), but he has the frame to handle added weight. He thrived collegiately as an athlete with excellent movement skills and good feet. You see that in pass protection. Lomu’s got a nice kick step to put himself in a position of strength when dealing with either speed rushers or more power-based players. The latter tend to give him problems if he doesn’t strike first, but again, if he beefs up, we should see an improvement in that regard.
“Like most rookie offensive linemen, he’s going to have to get stronger when he gets here,” Wolf said.
“Handled all the stunts they threw at him,” said one assistant offensive line coach I spoke with in the pre-draft process. “Just needs to eat his Wheaties and wash it down with some creatine.”
I asked Lomu how he would describe his own game.
“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. I'm able to move faster and play faster as an offensive lineman. 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. It's also a very mental game, and having the right mindset is key to being on the field. It’s just as important. So that's how I make sure I focus on that, and I feel that's what makes me a very good football player.”
That self-described mean streak doesn’t show up often enough, according to the folks around the league I talked to. That shows at times with his finish, or lack thereof, on some run plays.
“I’d like to see more nastiness in him,” one scout texted me. “Can they get that out of him? Because if they do, he’ll be one of their best five for a long time.”
“Honestly, he reminds me of Campbell,” said another. “Similar kind of athlete, similar movement skills. Just not as violent as he (Campbell) was at LSU.”
The good news is he doesn’t have to come in and be the bookend with the Pats top pick from a year ago. He can grow physically, adjust to the pro game this summer, and, hopefully, be ready to be the swing tackle for week one, with the promise that one day, be it this coming season or next, he’ll take over for Morgan Moses and do his best to keep Drake Maye upright.
“I love following them last year,” Lomu said of the Patriots. “Now I’m part of them. Excited to get there, get to work, and get the whole thing rolling.”