Patriots 3-round mock draft: Mike Vrabel continues to reshape New England's roster in his image

Drake Maye's emergence as an MVP-level quarterback catapulted the Patriots into the Super Bowl this season. Head coach Mike Vrabel understands that roster help is needed in the trenches. Expect New England to look to reinforce both their offensive and defensive lines via the 2026 NFL Draft.

Vrabel and his staff deserve a lot of credit for getting K'Lavon Chaisson's career back on track, but he's headed to free agency. The Patriots need to add more pass rushing juice even if they're able to bring him back on a reasonable contract. Defensive end would be an obvious direction for New England to go with one of their drop picks. New England heads into this draft from a position of strength and they can build on that by nailing the first three rounds by selecting these prospects.

Patriots mock draft Round 1 pick: Cashius Howell

There is a lot of time left for edge rusher rankings to crystalize ahead of the draft, but right now, Cassius Howell looks like a prospect who could slip to the bottom of Round 1. The Patriots should be ecstatic if he falls into their hands.

The former Texas A&M star lacks the size required to be a classic three-down end, but he has the juice teams like to see on the perimeter. When he gets a chance to pin his ears back and chase the quarterback he is an absolute nightmare for offensie tackles tasked with stopping him.

There are concerns about Howell's motor that need to be examined during the pre-draft process, but his athletic upside gives him a chance to blossom into a double-digit sack artist early in his pro career. The Patriots are well-positioned to gamble on that kind of talent with their first round pick.

Patriots mock draft Round 2 pick: Caleb Tiernan

Protecting Maye will continue to be a high priority for New England this offseason. Will Campbell held up well as a rookie left tackle but continued reinforcements are needed up front. Finding a new right tackle would be a nice item for the Patriots to check off their to do list in the draft.

Caleb Tiernan arrived at Northwestern as one of their top-rated recruits in school history and his play didn't disappoint. He finished his career with the Wildcats as their left tackle but projects to either move to the right tackle spot or guard when he hits the NFL.

Tiernan is not the sort of prospect that wows scouts on film, but he grows on evaluators with the constant, consistent technique he showed against all levels of competition. He's just the sort of steady, dependable prospect that should appeal to Vrabel during the scouting process.

Some teams might prefer to roll the dice on a lineman with more elite traits in Round 2, but New England is in a position to take enthusiastically take a sure bet. They can take Tiernan and give him every chance to take over their right tackle spot early in his pro career. If he fails to do so, they can kick him inside to guard and still get decent value from the 6-foot-7 lineman.

Patriots mock draft Round 3 pick: Darrell Jackson Jr.

Vrabel's preference to work with a three-man defensive front places a premium on players with the size to stuff the run and the burst to rush the passer. Darrell Jackson Jr. has the talent to do both things at a high level.

The problem Jackson is that his college play was far too inconsistent for a lineman with his physical gift. He's far too reliant on his natural gifts to overwhelm the opponent. Accomplished offensive linean were able to neutralize him with quality technique.

Some team might fall in love with Jackson and take him on Day 2. The Patriots won't reach that high for a player with this many question marks, but they will gamble on him if he falls to Round 3. Vrabel might enjoy a project like Jackson on his defensive front to work with in 2026 and beyond.

More NFL news and analysis: