The Patriots have already done some work on the tackle spot, but the picture still isn’t clean.
New England used the 28th pick after a trade-up to land Caleb Lomu, took a shot on Texas A&M’s Dametrious Crownover in the sixth round, and also brought in James Hudson III, who has more than 1,500 career snaps. Even with that group in place, the position still looks unsettled.
Will Campbell’s 2025 playoff run was disastrous, Morgan Moses turned 35 this offseason, and Campbell could end up moving if he can’t bounce back. Lomu carries plenty of hype, but he still has to prove he can be a starting-caliber NFL tackle.
That’s why another young tackle could still make sense for the Patriots, especially if Mike Vrabel liked what he saw from a Browns lineman who shares his alma mater.
Dawand Jones has been floated as a trade target ahead of the deadline, and the appeal is easy to see. He’s enormous at 6-foot-8 and 374 pounds, and he lined up opposite Paris Johnson at Ohio State, where Johnson was a top-ten pick. Last season, Jones played 138 snaps over two games at left tackle after handling both tackle spots in 2024 and the right side as a rookie.
The problem, of course, is health. Knee and ankle injuries have ended each of his first three seasons early, and he’s had two knee surgeries since last offseason. That makes his trade value tricky to pin down.
Cleveland’s roster situation adds another layer. The Browns rebuilt the offensive line completely, and the tackle jobs now belong to the ninth pick in the draft, Spencer Fano, and Tytus Howard, who signed a three-year deal. That leaves Jones without much of a route to playing time.
A move inside to guard is possible, but Cleveland also re-signed Teven Jenkins to work on the interior, while Zion Johnson and Elgton Jenkins occupy the other two guard spots after their offseason signings.
If New England wanted to make a deal, the Browns might listen because Jones is in the final year of his contract and no longer fits neatly into their plans. One possible package mentioned is Marcus Bryant, the 6-foot-8 tackle the Patriots took in the seventh round in 2025, plus a sixth-round pick. Bryant, a former SMU and Missouri tackle, showed flashes last preseason and has three years left on his rookie deal, which could make him appealing to Cleveland as a young piece with a longer runway.
Andrew Berry has drafted well recently, and after trading away the No. 2 pick and Myles Garrett in back-to-back seasons, another pick could be attractive to the Browns.
For the Patriots, the logic is straightforward: if Jones is available, and the price is right, his size alone makes him worth serious consideration.
In Other News...
Patriots Fans Can Finally Exhale About One Draft Decision
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Concepcions fit was never just about adding another target, though, and that is part of why Patriots fans could breathe a bit easier once the draft unfolded. New England already has Marcus Jones handling punt returns, so the urgency to chase a receiver for that specific dual-purpose role was never as pronounced as it might have seemed on paper. And with the team addressing other needs elsewhere, the pressure around that particular draft decision faded quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Keep Getting Linked To One Veteran Pass Rush Fix
The Patriots keep surfacing in the same pass-rush conversation as the preseason moves closer, and it is not hard to see why. New Englands defensive front still needs help, and the connection between Mike Vrabel and familiar edge options has kept the speculation alive even without any official movement from the team.
What makes the chatter linger is that the need is not abstract. New England is trying to stabilize a group that has dealt with offseason turnover and injury uncertainty, and adding a veteran like Jadeveon Clowney would immediately change the shape of that discussion. For now, though, it remains exactly that, a discussion, with no sign yet that the Patriots are ready to turn the rumor into something real. [Read more 🡒]