One year after selecting an offensive tackle in the first round of the NFL Draft, the New England Patriots did it again. Following a short trade-up with the Bills, the reigning AFC champions added Caleb Lomu with the 28th overall pick.
Unlike his 2025 counterpart Will Campbell, Lomu did not join the Patriots’ starting lineup the very moment he set foot in Foxborough. However, the long-term expectation is still the same: like Campbell on the left side, the Utah product was added this year to provide
stability on the right — even though his rookie campaign might not look the part.
Hard facts
Name: Caleb Lomu
Position: Offensive tackle
Jersey number: 74
Opening day age: 21 (12/23/2004)
Measurements: 6’7 1/4”, 313 lbs, 9 1/2” hand size, 33 3/8” arm length, 82 3/4” wingspan, 4.99s 40-yard dash, 32 1/2” vertical jump, 9’5” broad jump, 25 bench press reps, 9.77 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2026-) | College: Utah (2023-25)
Playing football since his childhood, Lomu attended Highland High School in his hometown of Gilbert, AZ. He saw action at both tackle and guard, and as a senior was named the top offensive lineman in the state. Eventually, he was rated as a four-star recruit and received scholarship offers from multiple high-profile programs such as Michigan, Oregon or USC. However, he opted to join Utah.
In three seasons as a Ute, Lomu saw action in 27 games with 24 starts. He redshirted as a freshman after appearing in three games, and from his second season on was a fixture on the team’s offensive line: he started 12 games each in 2024 and 2025, earning freshman All-American and first-team All-Big 12 honors in those respective seasons.
Despite having two years of eligibility left, Lomu decided to leave school in 2026. One of the top offensive tackle prospects in the draft, he was selected 28th overall in the first round by the Patriots, as noted above.
Scouting report
Strengths: Lomu combines good height and adequate length with a buildable frame. He also offers an explosive athletic skillset: he is quick out of his stance and has good foot speed and general range as a pass protector. He has impressive patience in 1-on-1s against pass rushers and the grip strength to keep them engaged throughout his reps. He is nimble on his feet without compromising his balance or foundation, allowing him to mirror defenders and perform quick kickbacks to force them wide.
Lomu also also can recover quickly while staying level, and has a good feel for where pressure is coming from; he adjusts his position without much effort. A fluid a athlete, he is an effective second-level blocker who quickly gets to his landmarks in the run game. His quick feet allow him to be used on a variety of reach and pull blocks, and he has the versatility to line up on both the left and the right side of the offensive line.
Weaknesses: More tall than big, Lomu does not stand out from a size perspective and ranks only in the 23rd percentile in arm length and in the 14th percentile in hand size. He has quick feet but oftentimes takes some rather uncoordinated steps, something that is also true for his hand placement. He is a good pass protector, but not on the same level in the run game. His physicality and aggression blocking the run is uneven, and he might have to bulk up and add more core strength in order to consistently move bodies on the ground.
2025 review
Stats: 12 games (12 starts) | 823 offensive snaps | 8 QB pressures surrendered (2 hits, 6 hurries) | 4 penalties (incl. 0 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: Lomu’s first year as a starter already was a success, but he managed to take his game to another level in his second season as Utah’s left tackle. Not only did he showcase exemplary durability — he was tied for the team lead with 823 offensive snaps before opting out of the Utes’ bowl game against Nebraska — he also performed at a high level as both a pass protector and a run blocker.
In 383 pass blocking reps, Lomu surrendered only eight quarterback pressures without a single sack. His pressure rate of 2.1% ranked among the best in the nation among qualifying tackles (i.e. those who played upwards of 325 snaps in pass protection), and he was one of only 20 such OTs at the FBS level not to give up a single sack throughout the season.
As a run blocker, meanwhile, Lomu helped Utah gain an average of 7.1 yards per carry to the left side of the formation. Obviously, he alone was not responsible for that number — the run game is a full-team effort — but he did show some strides while also leading the team in YPC when directly ran behind (8.9).
With Lomu leading Utah’s O-line, the unit was voted the Big 12 Offensive Line of the Week on four occasions, while he himself was voted first-team all-conference after the year. He subsequently ended his college career early by opting out of his team’s appearance in the Las Vegas Bowl to start his preparation for the NFL.
2026 preview
Position: Swing tackle | Ability: Fringe starter/Role player | Contract: Signed through 2029 (2030 UFA)
What will be his role? Lomu played left tackle in college, but based on his first offseason in New England he will start his career as a swing tackle behind current Patriots starters Will Campbell and Morgan Moses. As such, he will enter the lineup in case of injury higher up on the depth chart as well as in select packages as a sixth offensive lineman/jumbo tight end. Overall, however, his playing time share will not be on the same level as it was in his final two years at Utah — at least in 2026. By 2027, he realistically could replace Moses as the starting right tackle.
What is his growth potential? Lomu has the build and movement skills to become an impact player in the NFL, but he needs to keep filling out his frame and become stronger in the run game. That strength includes physicality; he has to learn to adopt a more aggressive approach in order to compete on a down-by-down basis. If he can do all those things, he has a multi-year career as a starter ahead of him.
Does he have positional versatility? Even though he only played a handful of snaps at right tackle and as an inline tight end in college, the Patriots feel strongly about Lomu’s ability to play multiple spots along the offensive line. During the spring, they used him at both tackle positions and also gave him practice reps at left guard. In addition, and despite only playing 24 total special teams snaps over the course of his Utah career (including zero in 2025), Lomu also should be able to serve as a protector on the field goal and extra point blocking units.
What is his salary cap situation? Lomu and the Patriots reached an agreement on a four-year rookie contract in early June, and it comes with a $3.44 million salary cap hit in 2026. That number can be broken down into a $885,000 base salary as well as a $2.56 million signing bonus proration, both of which are fully guaranteed.
How safe is his roster spot? The Patriots’ first-round pick in this year’s draft, Lomu is a lock to make the team’s roster this season. The bigger question is therefore not whether or not he will be part of the 53-man team or the active game day roster — he will be — but rather how involved he will be in the offensive operation on a week-to-week basis.
Summary: Even though offensive tackle was not a major pressing need for the 2026 season, adding a potential future starter at the position early rather than late made plenty of sense for the Patriots in this year’s draft — especially one with as intriguing a profile as Lomu. He should be expected to go the Nate Solder route and spend his rookie campaign as a backup and spot starter before taking over as the starting right tackle next season. The primary goal for this year, meanwhile, will be to get acclimated to the NFL and New England’s offense and ultimately ready for when called upon to start in 2027.
What do you think about Caleb Lomu heading into the 2026 season? How regular will his playing time be? Will he realistically factor into the guard mix as well? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
