MORSE: NFL Draft Combine - Defensive Lineman and Linebackers

Some quick Patriots news and notes:

On Tuesday, Eliot Wolf, the Patriots’ Executive Vice President for Personnel, spoke to the media during a 30-minute press conference. For the most part, it was really a question-and-answer session. As expected, he wouldn’t reveal any names of prospects or Free Agents they are interested in. He wouldn’t even say which prospects they have interviewed. However, he did state that the Patriots were not interested in Green Bay Free Agent OT Rasheed Walker: “I saw that report, and it’s not true.” Quite frankly, they can’t afford him anyway.
Two points stood out to me. He mentioned the work that Richard Miller, the Director of Research, is doing on Mock Drafts. This “comprehensive Mock Draft analysis” tries to anticipate the value of players to other teams and help set the teams’ draft board. The second point was about running backs. Wolf stated that he likes backs who run hard with force and can run through defenders. “By attacking the hole, they put pressure on the Defense.” Did he just give away one of the players they are interested in? The one runningback that fits that profile is Mike Washington of Arkansas. He is a 6’2” 228-pound back that runs a 4.45e 40. He ran for over 1,000 yards and a 6.2 YPC in the SEC. He does have some ball security issues with 10 fumbles in his college career.
Eliot Wolf on the positional future of Jared Wilson: “There’s openness to everything with him. He had never played guard before. He had good moments and bad moments, but he certainly has the physical ability to play there, and he’s also got the intelligence and the vocal ability to play center. So, I think those are conversations that we’re still having.” Although Wilson came to Georgia as a Guard and practiced there for three years, he only started for one year, and that was at Center. I think Wilson’s issues are more about the lack of games started rather than his ability. He just doesn’t have a lot of experience.
During a sit-down with the local Patriots beat writers who are covering the Combine, he stated that the Patriots are expecting both Harold Landry and Morgan Moses back next season. That should clear up any rumors about Landry being cut. Cutting Landry doesn’t make any sense since the team will incur a $19.5M dead money cap hit. Another tidbit was the Patriots’ interest in adding an off-ball linebacker.
Evan Lazar added on X, “Eliot Wolf points to pass rush ability, speed and violence, first-step explosiveness, and having multiple pass rush moves as traits the Patriots look for in edge rushers.”
Wolf on Stefon Diggs: “There are certain conversations that we’re having.” What does that mean? It’s likely whether or not to keep him at his present salary. In 2026, he has a $26.5M Cap Hit and only $8M Dead Cap Hit. That would be a savings of $18.5M. Are they discussing a restructuring of the contract? Perhaps eliminating incentives and turning them into a signing bonus? If the Patriots were to trade for AJ Brown, I can’t see the team carrying two Alpha contracts ($20M+) at WR. There is a mid-March date that kicks in new guarantees for Diggs.
Another curious thing Wolf said was, “Safety Jaylinn Hawkins has earned the opportunity to test the market, but adds the Patriots would welcome him back.” Sounds like Hawkins will test the market and bring back what he has been offered by other teams to see if the Patriots will match. He has expressed interest in coming back. As stated in my previous article, anything north of $9M a year is too much for Hawkins.
Wolf also noted that he “didn’t see the same level of lower body strength” in LT Will Campbell after the rookie’s knee injury. He added that he liked how Campbell played prior. Hey Captain Obvious – David Andrew’s had been stating for weeks since Campbell had come off IR that he couldn’t push off his right leg. Andrews stated that he didn’t have any inside info on this but that it was just his observation. After the Super Bowl, Campbell admitted that he was still hurt. Campbell has opted not to have surgery and will likely spend time strengthening his legs instead. This should be monitored all off-season.
What would you think of a trade involving Christian Barmore? The Patriots will be watching his “assault and battery on a household/family member” case closely. His arraignment was postponed until March 9^th to allow him to play in the Super Bowl. His case will be much more difficult to defend because there are pictures of the abuse. There are rumors of interest in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders for EDGE Maxx Crosby. A draft pick and Barmore would be hard for the Raiders to refuse. The Patriots have some depth at DT with the emergence of Corey Durden and 2^nd year draft pick Joshua Farmer. They also have Leonard Taylor, Jaquelin Roy, Jeremiah Pharms, and Eric Gregory at DT. Khyiris Tonga is a Free Agent, but I hope they bring him back. Don’t forget about the outstanding season from Milton Williams.
Karen Guregian posted this on X: “Las Vegas Raiders GM John Spytek voiced confidence that Maxx Crosby will remain a Raider.” The Raiders want something north of what Green Bay gave Dallas for Micah Parsons. It’s nice to want – they will be lucky to get a 1^st round pick and a starting player because of his age and salary.
Eliot Wolf praised Director of Scouting Administration Secretary Nancy Meier for the outstanding Logistics of getting everyone to Indianapolis. She booked them a day and a half earlier than what was scheduled to beat the blizzard and flew them into Detroit. They had to drive from Detroit to Indy. TF Green airport reported its highest one-day snowfall at 37.5”. Meier, at the age of 70, will be retiring in May after 52 years with the Patriots.
On Patriots Free Agents, Wolf said, “I’m not going to get into any specific players today. You know, there are certain conversations that we’re having, and we’ll see what happens with everything.”

Feb 26, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; UCF defensive lineman Malachi Lawrence (DL48) during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

(PHOTO: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)

Combine Day 1 Report

Measurements

The following measurements are the Official Combine Measurements, as provided by Sporting News.

Edge Rushers

Player	Height	Weight	Hand	Arm
Rueben Bain Jr.	6′ 2’’	263 lbs	9 1/8’’	30 7/8’’
David Bailey	6’4’’	251 lbs	10 1/4’’	33 3/4’’
Keldric Faulk	6’ 6’’	276 lbs	9 7/8’’	34 3/8’’
T.J. Parker	6’ 4’’	263 lbs	9 1/2’’	33 1/8’’
Cashius Howell	6’ 2 1/2’’	253 lbs	9 1/4’’	30 1/4’’
R Mason Thomas	6’ 2’’	241 lbs	8 7/8’’	31 5/8’’
Romello Height	6’ 3’’	239 lbs	9 1/2’’	32 1/4’’
Akheem Mesidor	6’ 3’’	259 lbs	10’’	32 1/8’’
LT Overton	6’ 3’’	274 lbs	10 5/8’’	33 1/4’’
Malachi Lawrence	6’ 4’’	253 lbs	9 1/4’’	33 5/8’’
Zion Young	6’ 6’’	262 lbs	9 1/2’’	33’’
Anthony Lucas	6’ 5 1/2’’	256 lbs	10 1/4’’	33 1/2’’
Joshua Josephs	6’ 3’’	242 lbs	10’’	34 1/4’’
Derrick Moore	6’ 4’’	255 lbs	9 1/8’’	33 3/8’’
Jaishawn Barham	6’ 3 1/2’’	240 lbs	10 1/4’’	32 3/8’’
Dani Dennis-Sutton	6’ 6’’	256 lbs	10 1/8’’	33 1/2’’
Tyreak Sapp	6’ 2’’	273 lbs	9 1/2’’	32’’

Rueben Bain, Cashius Howell, and R. Mason Thomas have short arms.

The following list shows the top 10 pass rushers in the NFL last season and their arm lengths.

Rank	Player	Arm Length
1	Myle Garrett	3501
2	Brian Burns	3307
3	Danielle Hunter	3401
4	Aidan Hutchinson	3201
5	Nik Bonitto	3201
6	Tuli Tuipulotu	3201
7	Micah Parsons	3204
8	Josh Sweat	3405
9	Will Anderson	3307
10	Byron Young	3201
	Rueben Bain	3007
	Cashius Howell	3001

If teams like Bain and Howell, I don’t think the short arms will change their minds. Most Offensive Tackles in the NFL have 34” arms (except Will Campbell) and can lock out these edge rushers. They are going to have to run blistering 40-yard dash times in order to get picked in the 1^st round.

It was reported that the Patriots have interviewed both Cashius Howell and Zion Young at the Combine

Defensive tackles

Player	Height	Weight	Hand	Arm
Peter Woods	6’ 2 1/2’’	298 lbs	9 1/8’’	31 1/4’’
Kayden McDonald	6’ 2’’	326 lbs	9 3/4’’	32 1/4’’
Caleb Banks	6’ 6’’	327 lbs	10 7/8’’	35’’
Christen Miller	6’ 4’’	321 lbs	10’’	33’’
Lee Hunter	6’ 3 1/2’’	318 lbs	9 1/4’’	33 1/4’’
Dontay Corleone	6’ 0 1/2’’	340 lbs	9 1/2’’	31 7/8’’
Domonique Orange	6’ 2’’	322 lbs	10 1/4’’	33 3/8’’
Darrell Jackson Jr.	6’ 5 1/2’’	315 lbs	11’’	34 3/4’’
Skylar Gil-Howard	6’ 1’’	280 lbs	9 1/4’’	30 3/4’’

Day One Winners and Losers

In the Linebacker Group, Ohio State Linebacker Sonny Styles put on a show. He had a 4.46 40-yard dash and 43.5 Vertical Leap, both of which were tops in the LB group. The Patriots have no chance at grabbing him unless they were to make a crazy trade. Two other unheralded linebackers also showed up. Kaleb Elarms-Orr, TCU, had a 4.47 40 and 40” Vertical. Both were the 2^nd best of the day for the LB group. He also had a 10’4” Broad Jump, which was 4^th. Anthony Hill, Texas also shows out with 4.51 40 (3^rd) a 37” Vertical and 10’5” Broad Jump.

I was really impressed with the Defensive Tackle group. I haven’t spent any time looking at the DT position since that is a position of strength for the Patriots. However, with the numbers these players put up, the Patriots just might have to take a player from this group. Caleb Banks is a top 10 pick and not in the Patriots’ sights. His outstanding workout earned him a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.87 out of 10. Gracen Halton, Oklahoma, had a very good performance with a 9.70 RAS. The player that impressed me the most was Zane Durant from Penn State. His measurements were 6’1”, 319-pounds, 9 ^5/8”Hand Size, 32 ^5/8”Arm Length. He ran an Official 4.75 40-yard-Dash but was just as impressive in the on-field drills. Demonte Capehart from Clemson also performed well. He is a bit of an enigma, as his play on the field doesn’t reflect the athleticism he showed at the combine. Six Defensive Tackles ran under 4.9 40 times. Those times are outrageous.

Thirteen EDGE players did not run the 40-yard dash, deferring to their Pro Days. The one player that I was most interested in seeing running was Zion Young from Missouri. He is a player who is a possibility for the Patriots at #31. Another player who didn’t work out was Akheem Mesidor from Miami. The player who made the biggest impression was Malachi Lawrence from UCF. He ran a blistering 4.52 Official 40-yard dash time. Only Arvell Reece and David Bailey had a better 40 time, and they will both be Top 10 selections. Lawrence has excellent size to go with that speed.

Dani Dennis-Sutton from Penn State was one of only two players to perform the 3-cone drill. He ran it at 6.90. The key to this stat is that the top pass rushers all run under 7.00! He also ran a very good 4.63 40-yard-dash, and a 39.5 Vertical Leap. His Broad Jump of 10’11” was tops among EDGE players.

Losers

As I mentioned earlier, Cashius Howell and Rueben Bain have short arms. That was the biggest news. As the graphic above shows, premier pass rushers don’t have short arms. I think Howell might drop to the 2^nd round, but I don’t think it will drop Bain very much. A relative unknown player, Jaishawn Barham, an EDGE from Maryland, ran a 4.64 40, but on his second run, he pulled up with a Hamstring pull. He still had a 4.66. DT Brandon Cleveland also pulled up lame on his second 40-yard-dash.

McAdoo will Not Return in 2026

Ben McAdoo, who spent last season as a senior defensive assistant, will leave the team after two seasons. NFL reporter Joseph Pasteris was first to report the news. The former Head Coach of the New York Giants and Offensive Coordinator for the Carolina Panthers, he was asked to perform Defensive Analysis for the team. McAdoo was one of three holdovers from the Jerod Mayo staff. It appears his duties will be absorbed by Terrell Williams in his new role as Defensive Executive Assistant.

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About Mark Morse

Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.

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