With the first wave of free agency having died down, the New England Patriots are shifting their focus to the upcoming NFL Draft. One big part of the process leading up to the draft is inviting players to visit the team’s Gillette Stadium facility, and the first are already being set up.
According to reports, edge rushers R. Mason Thomas (Oklahoma) and Romello Height (Texas Tech) are scheduled to visit the Patriots at some point in the near future.
Thomas spent his entire four-year college career with
the Sooner and appeared in 42 games with 20 starts. The 6-foot-2, 241-pounder registered 17 sacks with four forced fumbles and three recoveries and was twice voted to the All-SEC team (first team 2025, second team 2024).
Height had an eventful college career, spending time at Auburn (2020-21), USC (2022-23) and Georgia Tech (2024) before a final one-year stint at Texas Tech in 2025. He appeared in 50 total games, including 14 with the Red Raiders last season. In those 14 games, he notched 10 sacks and a pair of forced fumbles, and earned first-team All-Big 12 recognition.
The Patriots have shown a keen interest in the edge position during the pre-draft process so far and have met with at least 11 players to this point. It is not hard to see why: not only is the group among the deepest in this year’s draft, New England also has a need even after acquiring Dre’Mont Jones in free agency.
At the moment, the Patriots’ outside linebacker depth chart is just five players deep. Alongside projected starters Jones and Harold Landry, the team also rosters sophomores Elijah Ponder and Bradyn Swinson as well as another recent signing, Jesse Luketa.
Thomas and Height being invited for visits is therefore no real surprise. Whether or not those visits are indicative of any concrete plans heading toward the draft remains to be seen, but 30 visits do give us some clues about potential targets. Last year, six of the Patriots’ 11 draft picks — OT Will Campbell, WR Kyle Williams, S Craig Woodson, DT Joshua Farmer, OT Marcus Bryant, CB Kobee Minor — later confirmed that they had visited Foxborough.
The so-called 30 visits allow for an extended look at prospects. While teams are not permitted to put players through any on-field workouts or drills, those visits can still be a valuable piece of the puzzle and give those on the outside clues at eventual intentions.
