New England Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf admitted that he was surprised that Utah offensive tackle Caleb Lomu was within reach at No. 31 overall on the draft board.
The Patriots even went as far as canceling his top-30 pre-draft visit because they didn’t believe they would be in a position to select him. So they decided to be aggressive and move up on the board in a trade with the division rival Buffalo Bills.
They traded the 31st and 125th overall picks to Buffalo for pick No. 28.
“Really excited about this player,” Wolf said. “He’s young, he’s experienced. He’s athletic. He’s a great kid…I was a little surprised that he was still available, and that’s why we, you know, decided to move up a little bit.”
Eliot Wolf on Patriots Selection of Caleb Lomu from Utah:
“Really excited about this player. He’s young, he’s experienced. He’s athletic. He’s a great kid…I was a little surprised that he was still available, and that’s why we, you know, decided to move up a little bit.”
— Patriots on CLNS (@PatriotsCLNS) April 24, 2026
Time will tell how the Lomu pick pans out, particularly when most expected the Patriots to target an edge rusher in the first round. They eventually made good on that need by trading up for Illinois’ linebacker Gabe Jacas in the second round.
But the move for Lomu does make sense as a future replacement for Morgan Moses, who is 35 years old. Lomu is a talented offensive lineman capable of playing at multiple positions. Those kinds of players don’t come around often.
This was a smart pick for the Patriots all around.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Eliot Wolf reveals what surprised Patriots most about OT Caleb Lomu