Plus, what position will they take?
The 2025 NFL Draft begins next Thursday in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the New England Patriots currently hold the No. 4 overall pick.
Ahead of the draft, there are currently four top prospects garnering the most buzz for the Patriots. Pass-rusher Abdul Carter and wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter are widely considered the top two prospects in the class, and tackles Will Campbell and Armand Membou are potential options to fill New England’s biggest need at offensive tackle.
Carter, a linebacker from Penn State, registered a dozen sacks and twice as many tackles for loss last season rushing off the edge. With a small frame and explosive burst, he projects as a potential All-Pro for his ability to get to opposing quarterbacks. With the Patriots recording just 28 sacks as a team last year—including nine in one game against the Bears—Carter could give a much-needed lift to the defense.
Hunter, listed as a cornerback, is perhaps the most intriguing player in this class. The Colorado star won the Heisman last year and also picked up awards for best defensive player and best wide receiver while playing over 700 snaps on each side of the ball. He enters the NFL as the top prospect in this class at both wide receiver and cornerback with his tremendous athleticism, ball skills, and head for the game standing out at both positions. While the Patriots have both outside corner spots locked up with Christian Gonzalez, Hunter could potentially be the top wide receiver on the roster the day he steps foot in Foxboro while also moonlighting as a rotational player in the secondary.
Will Campbell has been a popular name among Patriots fans since before the season started. He entered the 2024 season as perhaps the top offensive tackle in the class after not allowing a sack to Jayden Daniels in 2023. Although his 2024 was a bit rockier than some may have expected, Campbell is an elite athlete who found success at left tackle as a true freshman in the SEC in 2022. However, with a narrow frame and arms measuring in at the short end of the range for NFL starters, there are questions about if his technique can be good enough to overcome those shortcomings. If not, he could be moved inside to left guard.
Armand Membou was a late riser in the process. After two seasons of average play at right tackle for Missouri, he broke out as a junior in 2024 as one of the best tackles in the SEC. He didn’t allow a sack and allowed only eight pressures all season while only being penalized four times while also being his team’s moveable piece to generate advantages in the running game. Membou also was one of the best-testing tackles at the combine. The catch for New England? He has never played left tackle. The Patriots would be asking him to switch sides at the next level with Morgan Moses slotted in at right tackle. While this didn’t both last year’s top pick Joe Alt who switched from left to right, it is certainly a potential failure point.
The Patriots may have another option with their pick: a trade. If a team wants to move up to take a quarterback or one of the players above, they could be in position to make a trade back and add more picks later in the class. Early reports suggest that the trade market is not particularly robust this year, but that doesn’t mean the right offer won’t surface between now the next Thursday night.
If the Patriots trade back there are a number of possible names that could interest the team. Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, Penn State tight end Tyler Warren, and Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham are some of the top players the Patriots could take with a trade back, with both tackles listed above as potential options if either fell. The second tier of pass rushers including Georgia’s Jalon Walker or Mykel Williams, Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart, and Marshall’s Mike Green could all be fits for New England’s defensive front.
With the draft approaching, which option do you think is the best course for the Patriots? What position do you think the team ends up drafting first?
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