The New England Patriots are entering their first offseason with Mike Vrabel as head coach. While the overall roster is pretty weak, the team has over $100 million in cap space to improve, especially on offense. The team has their quarterback of the future in Drake Maye, and they need to surround him with better players, especially on the offensive line.
Improving the offensive line doesn't only have to happen through free agency. They can also do so in the NFL Draft. The Patriots hold the fourth overall pick, and one of the more popular selections in mock drafts has been LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell. But after the NFL Scouting Combine this past weekend, there is now a new name linked to the Patriots.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic published a new mock draft after the NFL Scouting Combine. With the No. 4 overall pick, Brugler has the Patriots selecting Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou.
"Teams are warming up to the idea that Membou could go this high — his tape is good enough; his testing was more than good enough," writes Brugler.
"That said, he is still just 20 and had to pull out of the Senior Bowl because of an illness, so teams still have homework to do on him. But he is in the mix to be the first offensive lineman drafted."
Patriots linked to Missouri OT Armand Membou in The Athletic mock draft
The NFL Scouting Combine is an opportunity for borderline prospects to increase their stock to get selected earlier in the draft, potentially as a top 10 pick. It appears that Membou has done just that.
Membou played three seasons at Missouri, eventually working his way to be their starting right tackle by the end of his freshman season in 2022. This past season, Membou was named to the All-SEC second team after playing in 12 games.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Membou ran an impressive 4.91-second 40-yard dash. Membou did so at 6-foot-4 and 332-pounds, and according to NFL research, he had the fastest 40-time of any offensive linemen at 6-foot-4 and 330-pounds since 2003. That is impressive. Not only did he do that, but also recorded a 34-inch vertical jump and a 9-foot, 7-inch broad jump.
NFL.com's Eric Edholm mentions that Membou is one of four offensive linemen to ever record a sub-5.00-second 40-yard dash and a 30-inch or higher vertical jump at 315-pounds or heavier. Two players in that company are Trent Williams and Tristan Wirfs. But the fourth player was Campbell, who recorded a 4.98 40-yard dash and a 32-inch vertical.
The choice will be the Patriots'. Even though there is an opportunity that two quarterbacks to go off the board in the first three picks, the odds of both Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter and Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter being available are slim. So, the Patriots could opt to go with fixing the offensive line, even though this year's class isn't as stacked as years past. It could very well be a choice between Campbell, the sure-thing, or Membou, the star at the Combine.