Patriots have officially met with 2 defensive prospects in play for No. 4 pick
Two of the top defensive prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft have confirmed that they met with the New England Patriots.
That would be Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter and Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham, who both confirmed during their media availability at the NFL Scouting Combine that they met with Mike Vrabel and the Patriots. Both players are firmly in the conversation for the Pats at No. 4 overall, and are virtually the consensus two-best front-seven prospects. However, Carter sounds more likely by the day to be off the board within the top-three, anyway.
For that reason, Graham is the one to really watch going forward. ESPN’s Mike Reiss recently spotlighted Graham as “figuring to spark a compelling discussion.” Just my personal opinion, but knowing Reiss, who is as plugged-in as anyone on the Pats beat, this is code for the Pats seriously eyeing Graham for the fourth overall pick, which makes a hell of a lot of sense.
Resident Sports Hub draft guru Alex Barth gave his thoughts on Graham in a recent scouting report: “Mason Graham is the kind of elite athlete at the defensive tackle position that is becoming more and more prevalent as a building block of an NFL defense. While defensive tackle may not be a conventional ‘premium position’ there’s no doubt Graham is a premium prospect in a draft thin on such players. Will a team trust him to anchor their defensive front as a pro?”
Check out many more 2025 draft prospects that have met with the Patriots as part of our live tracker.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
