McDaniels Praises Rookie Caleb Lomu's Versatility, 'Awesome Kid'

Coming off the 2025 season, one key area the New England Patriots addressed this offseason was its offensive line.

They added free agent Alijah Vera-Tucker, who they hope will fill in at Jared Wilson’s old position at left guard after Wilson moved to center. But the more notable news of the offseason was the fact that the club made adding tackle depth a priority.

They did that in April when they added Utah offensive tackle Caleb Lomu. The rookie became the first addition to this year’s class of 2026 Patriots Draft Picks. They selected Lomu in round one after trading up with Buffalo to select him with the 28th overall pick, setting themselves up for the future at a key position of need.

While Lomu played mostly on the left side in college, the expectation seemed to be that he’d work his way into the line-up on the right side behind Morgan Moses. That would essentially give New England a future line with Will Campbell at left tackle and Lomu anchoring things on the right.

So far, the rookie seems to be off to a good start. He had a productive spring ahead of OTAs, and he already saw his number called on Tuesday after Morgan Moses left practice. Lomu rotated in on the right side in Moses’ absence with Marcus Bryant, which is a reminder that one or both could see time at any moment, given Moses’ age (he turned 35 in March).

Josh McDaniels praised both Lomu’s attitude and his versatility on Tuesday.

“Yeah. I mean, that’s a different challenge, and you come in, and you’re used to playing in one spot,” said McDaniels. “And, when you play offensive line in the National Football League as a young player, a lot of times that is your responsibility, is to learn a whole bunch of different roles.”

“Language is different on one side than the other,” he added. “Certainly, technique and fundamentals are a little different because you’re working on different sides of the football.”

May 9, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots tackle Caleb Lomu (74) works on drills with tackle Dametrious Crownover (68) during the New England Patriots rookie camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images — **Patriots rookie tackles Caleb Lomu and Dametrious Crownover. (PHOTO: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)**

Lomu a Key Part of Patriots’ Future

Lomu’s arrival quietly addressed a key need this offseason. The club lost its most important backup in Vederian Lowe to the 49ers this offseason as a free agent, which was a bigger loss than some realize. Lowe played a key role in the club not missing a beat after filling in for Campbell for a good portion of last season. They also parted ways with Thayer Munford, Jr. That created another void as Munford saw a lot of time as an extra lineman down the stretch and gave them added depth.

That left the Patriots thin at the position. With both players no longer on the roster, just Caedan Wallace and Bryant remained behind Campbell and Moses ahead of the draft.

Heading into 2026, that was clearly an area of concern. Losing either Campbell or Moses would have left them in difficult shape, especially since neither Wallace nor Bryant has proven to this point that they’re able to handle a bigger role.

In April, they selected both Lomu and Dametrious Crownover (6th round, 196th overall), which added two pieces to address that need. Crownover has also gotten some work in the early going, but Lomu seems like he could become a factor at some point this season.

So far, according to McDaniels, he seems to be off to a good start as Lomu’s NFL journey continued this week.

“Great attitude. Awesome kid,” said McDaniels of the rookie. “Love his personality. Practices his butt off every day. A sponge. Again, we’ve done a tremendous job of bringing in a bunch of guys that just want to learn, try to get better, and work hard. And so Caleb’s at the head of the class in terms of the rookies for us.”

About Ian Logue

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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