The Patriots went offense for the third time again on Friday night, closing things out with a couple of trades that pushed them further into round three before ultimately selecting Georgia center, Jared Wilson, with the 95th overall pick.
He’s a player who was highly touted, with Wilson rated as being the top center in the draft. He becomes the second offensive lineman targeted so far this weekend, with the club obviously having taken LSU tackle Will Campbell in round one Thursday night to kick off the list of 2025 Patriots Draft Picks.
With the Patriots intent on building a solid foundation up front in front of Drake Maye, Wilson’s addition certainly seems to provide some quality depth and yet another potential cornerstone piece along their offensive line.
Still, Wilson’s selection was interesting considering the club signed Garett Bradbury this offseason, and it potentially signals that Cole Strange’s path back to left guard may seemingly be a bigger possibility heading into the season.
While Strange was expected to compete for the center position, the Patriots would have still needed to find a more viable candidate to play left guard after an up-and-down season where the club rotated between Layden Robinson, Sidy Sow, and Michael Jordan while Strange was sidelined.
Robinson ultimately started the final five games of the season, but they absolutely need to solidify that spot heading into 2025. Adding Wilson would give Strange the ability to return to his original spot, although Eliot Wolf said Friday night the plan will still be for them to compete.
“We see versatility is the name of the game here,” said Wolf when asked about it during his press conference. “So, we feel like Cole, obviously, has the experience at guard, primarily got that great experience at center last year, so we feel like he can compete at both spots.”
As for why they took Wilson, Wolf said that what impressed them was how well he played in his first year at center after making the transition from guard,
“Just a young, athletic offensive lineman, has center guard flex,” said Wolf. “Just didn’t give up a sack all year this year. And his athletic ability is really what stands out about him.”
“I mean, he’s still a young guy,” he added. “So I think your point about playing one year is maybe what we liked a little bit. It’s just the upside, the trajectory for him to have the success he had this year as a first-year starter. We think that the sky’s the limit for him, especially with his unique athletic ability. And he’s big. I mean, he’s 310 pounds.”
As for whether or not this is potentially a battle between those guys for the opportunity to both compete to play center or left guard, Wolf alluded to the fact they’ll potentially each be evaluated for both roles.
“Yeah, I can see that being a possibility,’ he said when asked about Wilson possibly playing left guard. “Most of his experience has been at center in this past year, but he had played guard. Or he was basically the sixth man at Georgia prior to this year. So he’s got experience practicing and playing at guard there. So I think center is ultimately going to be his best position, but we’ll get him in here, see what he can handle mentally and see what he can do.”
In the meantime, the Patriots have strengthened the offensive line for the second time in this draft, which should definitely make Maye’s life a little easier heading into his sophomore season.
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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.
