One of the top prospects in this year’s draft, Mason Graham will be a candidate to go off the board early. Naturally, Shedeur Sanders‘ landing spot will be of interest to teams eyeing Graham; the Colorado QB going in the top three would keep a higher-rated prospect on the board.
Excluding positional value, Graham is rated as a higher-caliber prospect than either Sanders or Cam Ward. And teams will begin to look closely into the Michigan product. The Patriots and Saints will meet with the high-level defensive tackle prospect this week, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets.
Despite the Patriots not needing a quarterback, Sanders’ landing spot is likely of particular interest to the team. If the Browns or Giants end up with this draft’s second-best QB prospect, Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter — in the likely event the Titans start the draft with a Ward investment — will be there for the Pats at No. 4. This would leave Graham available as perhaps the next-best player available.
Daniel Jeremiah’s latest NFL.com big board slots Graham fourth overall — behind Carter, Hunter and Ashton Jeanty. The 2024 Heisman runner-up is highly unlikely to be a top-four pick, due largely to positional value, pointing to Graham being the first non-QB off the board after Carter and Hunter. Declaring for the draft early, Graham combined to total 6.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss over the past two seasons. The 21-year-old interior D-lineman collected first-team All-Big Ten honors last season.
A Pats-Graham link emerged before free agency, but the team then authorized the top guarantee on this year’s market to land Milton Williams. With Christian Barmore extended, the Patriots considering Graham at 4 would represent a tremendous commitment up front. Then again, Mike Vrabel said early this offseason the lines would be a priority.
The Pats need a left tackle far more than they need D-line help, and Will Campbell‘s name will continue to circulate — arm-length concerns notwithstanding. A scenario in which Sanders remains on the board also could open the door to a trade-down move, in the event Carter and Hunter are gone by No. 4, but Graham would serve as a high-end option for a top-10 team making a best-player-available pick.
Holding the No. 9 overall pick, the Saints invested first- and second-round selections into their D-line in 2023, taking D-tackle Bryan Bresee and D-end Isaiah Foskey to start that draft. New England also dealt veteran DT Davon Godchaux to New Orleans last month. The Saints also still roster 2023 free agency additions Khalen Saunders and Nathan Shepherd at DT, though Graham would profile as a player expected to be an early-career starter if he ended up in Louisiana.