When Mike Vrabel took over the New England Patriots in January 2025, he inherited a team that has had issues along the offensive line for multiple years. And so, in his first draft as head coach, the team went out to fix the issue: with its first and third selections, it added to the O-line.
We will talk about first-round pick Will Campbell in a future installment of our Patriots scouting reports. For now, let’s focus on third-rounder Jared Wilson — a player whose rookie season can best be summed
up as a learning experience.
Hard facts
Name: Jared Wilson
Position: Center/Interior offensive line
Jersey number: 55
Opening day age: 23 (6/5/2003)
Measurements: 6’3”, 310 lbs, 10 3/4” hand size, 32 3/8” arm length, 80” wingspan, 4.84s 40-yard dash, 4.56s short shuttle, 32” vertical jump, 9’4” broad jump, 23 bench press reps, 9.82 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2025-) | College: Georgia (2021-24)
A three-star interior line recruit out of West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, NC, Wilson originally committed to play college football in his home state. However, after initially picking North Carolina over offers from Alabama, Ohio State and Auburn, among others, he backed out from what would have been an opportunity to play with quarterback Drake Maye. Instead, Wilson decommitted and later that very same day switched to Georgia.
His four-year career with the Bulldogs can be broken into two parts. Between his 2021 freshman season and 2023 junior campaign, Wilson served as a backup along the interior offensive line and started none of the 21 games he appeared in. However, after playing only 204 snaps as a center and guard during that span, he upped the ante in his final season: in 2024, the eventual second-team All-SEC selection was on the field for 810 snaps as a 12-game starting center.
Wilson left college on a high note, and his draft status reflected it as well. As noted above, the Patriots brought him aboard in the third round. Wilson went on to start 17 total games as a rookie, all of them as the team’s left guard.
Scouting report
Strengths: Wilson is an impressive athlete along the interior offensive line, who quickly transitions out of his stance and is a smooth mover in the open field. He has the necessary urgency and adequate vision as a pull and second-level blocker, and the speed (98th percentile 40-yard dash) to also be a factor in the screen game. His flexible lower body and natural balance allow him to successfully mirror as a pass protector, and to recover quickly when overextending in his pass sets. He furthermore is able to use his big hands to latch onto targets, and has the proper grip strength to keep his opponents in check once engaged.
Weaknesses: Wilson generally is a well-built player, but his length is unremarkable and puts pressure on his first punch to be precise — something that was not always the case as a rookie. In general, his hand placement was all over the place at times and he has to learn to settle down and play within himself. The same is also true when it comes to defensive recognition and chemistry with his fellow blockers; stunts, twists and blitzes can throw him off his game. The same is true for his anchor, which needs to get stouter particularly when going up against bull rushers trying to power through him. Wilson also has struggled with injuries the last two years.
2025 review
Stats: 17 games (17 starts) | 1,049 offensive snaps (77.2%), 66 special teams snaps (12.0%) | 41 QB pressures surrendered (8 sack, 7 hits, 26 hurries), 2 FRs | 3 penalties (incl. 0 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: The Patriots’ efforts to rebuild their offensive line under new head coach Mike Vrabel led them to select Wilson 95th overall in the third round of the 2025 draft. However, it took him some time to actually find his spot the lineup: after being a limited practice participant in the spring due to an undisclosed injury, he entered his rookie training camp as a backup option along the interior offensive line.
It did not take Wilson long to earn a starting job.
After regularly subbing into the top lineup at both left guard and center to open camp — a clear sign that the Patriots coaching staff was intent on finding a job for him — he found himself in the starting lineup during the sixth session. Taking over the left guard position previously occupied by former first-round draft choice Cole Strange, Wilson had finally found his role.
He went on to keep it throughout the year, starting all 17 of the games he was available for and playing the sixth-most offensive snaps on the roster. Along the way, the youngster repeatedly flashed his talents as both a run blocker and pass protector, but also experienced his fair share of growing and other pains.
Playing in between a fellow rookie at left tackle (Will Campbell) and a veteran free agency pickup at center (Garrett Bradbury), he finished the year giving up 41 total quarterback pressures including eight sacks. Both of those numbers ranked as the second most on the team behind Campbell. In addition, Wilson was flagged on three different occasions and missed playing time due to three separate injuries.
Wilson sat out the Patriots’ Week 4 win over Carolina with an ankle issue, and then suffered a high ankle sprain on the opening drive of his team’s Week 12 contest in Cincinnati; the injury forced him to miss the following week’s game as well. He also found himself in concussion protocol for the final two games of the regular season before a return for the playoffs.
As a result of his missed time, playing out of his natural position, and his general lack of experience and chemistry especially with Campbell, Wilson and the left side of the offensive line were a definitive weak point for the Patriots offense. The playoffs in particular showed this. That all said, the team can feel encouraged by the early signs as well: Wilson showed his adaptability not just to a different position but the NFL game as a whole.
2026 preview
Position: Center | Ability: Average starter | Contract: Signed through 2028 (2029 UFA)
What will be his role? Despite lining up virtually exclusively as the starting left guard during his rookie season, Wilson will have a new job as a sophomore. With Garrett Bradbury traded to Chicago and Alijah Vera-Tucker signed in free agency, he is now the Patriots’ new starting position — reprising a role he already had played quite successfully during his college career at Georgia.
What is his growth potential? There were plenty of positive moments on Wilson’s tape in 2025, but overall he had his ups and downs in 2025. A position change back to his more natural spot at center should therefore help him get on a definitive upward trajectory and become the long-time anchor along the Patriots offensive line he was drafted to be.
Does he have positional versatility? Wilson is a moderately versatile player. He has shown the ability to play multiple positions along the interior offensive line going back to his college days, and also was a member of New England’s field goal and extra point protection unit in 2025. Heading into 2026, however, all of that might change: as the starting center, no moving around the O-line or playing in the kicking game will be in the plan.
What is his salary cap situation? Entering the second season of his rookie contract, Wilson comes with a cap hit of $1.41 million. As is the case with most other rookie deals, that number consists of a non-guaranteed base salary ($1.12M) and a fully-guaranteed signing bonus proration ($288k).
How safe is his roster spot? Even though he has yet to play any center snaps in the NFL outside of preseason, Wilson can safely be considered a lock to make the roster this year. He was the top center throughout the spring, after all, and will continue to be trained in that position.
Summary: It took him a year to get there, but Wilson has finally reached his destination. Now back at his natural position — a move accompanied by him also changing jersey numbers from 58 to the 55 he wore in college — the Patriots’ new starting center is a prime candidate for a noticeable second-year jump.
What do you think about Jared Wilson heading into the 2026 season? Will he take a step up at center? Or will the same issues plague him again this season? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
