Image courtesy of Tony Harman/Colorado Athletics
By Andy Backstrom
NEFJ Correspondent
INDIANAPOLIS – The New England Patriots have too many holes for one draft selection to patch.
They need to surround second-year quarterback Drake Maye with more weapons. They also need to bolster a defense that ranked 11th-to-last in the NFL with 24.5 points per game allowed last season.
That’s where executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and the Patriots might start in April with the No. 4 overall pick – or a few spots ahead or behind that position, depending on if they trade up or down, or stay put.
Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter made his case for why defensive players should get love at the top of the draft when he met with reporters in the Indianapolis Convention Center Wednesday.
“Defensive players impact the game just as much as a quarterback,” said Carter, a candidate to hear his name called at No. 1 overall this year after he stitched together a 12-sack season for a College Football Playoff semifinal Penn State team.
“And I feel like me, myself, and all the best defensive players in the country need to just start speaking out about that more because we just as important to the game as the best quarterbacks.”
With that in mind, New England Football Journal is examining three potential defensive prospects the Patriots could have the opportunity to snag with their first pick in this year’s draft.
Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter
Carter could very well go No. 1 overall, so there’s a chance New England won’t be able to pluck him off the draft board.
Reports came out this week that Carter has a stress reaction in his right foot, but according to ESPN’s Thursday story, doctors have advised him against having surgery.
Carter, who has been recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered against Boise State in the CFP, is still scheduled to work out at Penn State’s Pro Day on March 28. He registered a whopping 66 pressures last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Additionally, Carter led the nation with 24 tackles for loss, seven more than he combined for the previous two years at Penn State.
The Philadelphia native followed in the footsteps of current Dallas Cowboys pass rushing star Micah Parsons with the Nittany Lions, donning Parsons’ old number in Happy Valley. Parsons has given Carter advice, and now the newest Penn State sack artist is on the verge of draft day glory.
“Just before this season, I told him I want to be the No. 1 pick,” Carter said, recounting a conversation with Parsons, a two-time first-team All-Pro. “He took me under his wing. We trained together, worked together, and everything’s turned out good so far.”
But, with Carter’s injuries and the unpredictable nature of the draft, it’s not out of the question he falls a few spots. So, the Patriots remain a suitor.
Carter has already met with head coach Mike Vrabel.
“Very serious, very up front guy,” Carter said. “He all about his business, which is what I like. He was really straight forward with me, and I feel like I like him.”
While Carter is known for his quarterback-hunting expertise, he has room to improve as a run defender. He said he’s focusing on using his hands more, running his feet on contact and striking.
Michigan DT Mason Graham
The Patriots might end up with another highly-touted Big Ten defensive lineman. Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham is gaining steam during the pre-draft process, and he plays a position that’s gaining increasing appreciation: 3-tech.
Wolf was asked, generally, what’s making 3-techniques more valuable in the NFL right now when he talked to reporters Wednesday.
“Yeah, I just think the ability to wreck a game,” Wolf said. “I mean these guys that are elite up front, pushing the middle of the pocket, making the quarterback move, get off his spot, there’s a premium on those guys, and that’s why you see some of these guys getting paid and being drafted earlier because of the impact they can have on all three downs.”
Graham is going to be one of those guys who is being drafted earlier – and also getting paid – regardless if the Patriots take him.
He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors back-to-back years, first as a national champion and then as a first-team AP All-American who collected 45 tackles, including seven behind the line of scrimmage, 3.5 sacks and a pass break-up.
His 3.5 sacks last season don’t do his pass rushing chops justice. Graham pocketed 34 pressures in 2024, tied for the 10th most of any interior defensive lineman this past year, according to PFF.
“I feel like I affect every snap, run or pass,” he said. “I feel like a dominant player, one of the most dominant players in this class.”
Graham was asked what are one or two plays from the 2024 campaign he’d want to show NFL teams.
“I mean, I feel like just rolling that Ohio State film,” he said. “That’s all you need to see, really.”
During a stunning upset over the future national champion Buckeyes last November, he stonewalled the Ohio State rushing attack, recording five “stops” versus the run in that game alone – a “stop” is PFF’s metric for tackles that constitute a “failure” for the offense.
Graham met with the Patriots earlier this week.
“I feel like that went pretty well,” he said Wednesday. “Great people, great organization.”
He later added: “They were just asking me about me, what makes me me. It was just a fluent conversation.”
Graham was asked if his meeting with Vrabel was intense.
“I heard that going into my meeting,” he said, “but I thought he was a cool guy. We were just talking, having a good conversation.”
Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter
OK, well technically Colorado two-way superstar Travis Hunter isn’t only a defensive prospect. But the Heisman Trophy winner is expected to play primarily on the defensive side of the ball at the next level.
He, however, was relentless Thursday in expressing his desire to play both ways 100% of the time for whichever NFL team picks the cornerback/wide receiver hybrid.
“They say nobody has ever done it, for real, the way I do it,” Hunter said. “But I tell them I’m just different. I’m a different person.”
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound unicorn is coming off a jaw-dropping 2024 season. He grabbed All-Big 12 wide receiver and cornerback honors, and for good reason.
Hunter led the Buffs with four interceptions and 11 pass break-ups. He gave up just 23 catches and one touchdown on 41 targets in coverage, according to PFF. Oh, and he forced a fumble to clinch an overtime win against Baylor, setting the tone for Colorado’s impressive first year in its new conference. Then, on the other side of the ball, Hunter wowed with 15 receiving touchdowns, 1,258 receiving yards and 96 receptions.
He noted Thursday at the Combine that he’s done some meetings this week at receiver and others at cornerback, so “it’s still up in the air,” he said.
Hunter said the organization that drafts him will ultimately determine what position, or positions, he plays in the NFL. He was steadfast in not answering questions about which teams he has met with so far.
But he discussed how he consistently played 100-plus snaps in games at Colorado. He talked about the extra time he spent studying by himself, not to mention his commitment to recovery practices such as cold and hot tub sessions and Cryotherapy treatments.
“Nobody has done it, but I feel like I’ve put my body through a lot,” Hunter said. “I do a lot of treatment. People that get to see that part [know] what I do for my body to make sure I’m 100% each game, but I feel like I can do it because nobody has done it, and I know I can do it.
“I did that at the college level, [where] we rarely get breaks, and there’s a lot more breaks in the NFL.”
What Hunter’s exact snap count and positional duties will look like is still up for debate, but his impending stardom isn’t really – if he’s available at No. 4, the Patriots could be in play.