One of New England’s biggest problems last season was all the issues they had up front along the offensive line, and they appear to be focused on ensuring it’s not as big of a problem in 2023.
The New England Patriots drafted another lineman with the 144th overall pick in Round 5 on Saturday, selecting UCLA’s Atonio Mafi with the pick they had just earlier acquired in a trade with the Raiders. That selection traded them out of the final spot in round 4 at #135, with the Patriots adding their pick at #144, as well as giving them an additional sixth-round pick at #214.
Mafi is a big, powerful guy, which sticks to the theme that the Patriots seemed to be focused on given their earlier selections of Jake Andrews and Sidy Sow. At 6’3″, 338 pounds, he’s massive and he’s the first player to be drafted by New England as someone they worked with earlier this offseason during the Shrine Bowl.
Looking at the film, he’s just a ridiculously strong player. Despite his size, he’s really smooth with his feet, and well-balanced. At the same time, he literally knocks guys to the ground on contact. He’s also surprisingly quick, getting down the line and completely burying opponents.
His selection is certainly a big one beyond just what he does on the field. Leading up to the draft, Mafi wrote in a pre-draft diary for the L.A. Times that his goal was to make it to the NFL and to finally make his mother’s life a little easier. In his latest entry, the two exchanged texts and after his mom having just finished working a six-day workweek, Mafi told her, “We’re almost there,” letting her know that, “Soon, you won’t have to do that anymore.”
Definitely makes him a fun guy to root for.
Meanwhile, if you haven’t seen him play, here’s a quick look:
Here’s a look at the full list of 2023 Patriots Draft picks.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
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