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The New England Patriots are ramping up for the 2022 NFL Draft and that requires the team to work out potential draftees and prospects who might be candidates to become undrafted free agent signings.
Patriots and Tennessee Titans fans might recognize the last name of one of the most recent prospects in Foxborough for a workout. Boston College offensive lineman Tyler Vrabel, son of former Patriots great and current Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was in New England for a workout, per NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
Kyle Vrabel Has His Share of Strengths and Weaknesses
Vrabel has battled injuries for the last two years. He had one year of eligibility remaining but decided to forego his final season at BC to pursue a professional career.
The NFL pedigree and familiarity with Vrabel’s family could be a factor in New England’s interest, and the 6-foot-5, 310-pounder also has some versatility. In college, Vrabel played both tackle positions, but some believe he might find his niche in the NFL as a guard.
The Draft Network’s Joe Marino is an expert who believes Vrabel could be looking at a position change at the next level.
“Vrabel is a physical and aggressive blocker that functions with good timing and is proficient at both left and right tackle,” Marino wrote. “He has good block temperament and power in the run game and his footwork is sound in pass protection. Overall, he is a good athlete for the position with sufficient lateral movement skills.”
The Patriots may well have a need at guard–at least from a depth perspective. The Patriots lost Ted Karras to the Cincinnati Bengals on the free-agent market. New England traded away Shaq Mason to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They still have 2020 standout rookie Mike Onwenu and James Ferentz, but the latter is more of a transitional piece than someone the team can afford to look at as a long-term cog as Mason had become. Perhaps Vrabel could earn a spot at guard while Belichick and Co. know that he could slide down to tackle in a pinch.
While Vrabel’s versatility has been mentioned as a potential strength, he is not without “concerns” as a prospect.
“The main areas of concern for Vrabel and his projection to the NFL is that he needs to play with better bend, be careful about overextending, and not duck his head on contact in the run game,” Marino continued. “He has poor posture and tends to get top-heavy and gets caught leaning. There are frequent enough instances with him getting outreached that brings into question his length and that could lead to a transition to guard at the next level. It would be unsurprising for Vrabel to develop into a starter or quality reserve but he has some concerns to iron out so that he can reach his potential.”
New England may not need for Vrabel to command a starting spot from Day 1, though no one in Foxborough would be complaining if he turns out as surprisingly good as Onwenu did in 2020.
Kyle Vrabel Projects as a Fifth-Round Prospect
Where would the Patriots need to select Vrabel if they are impressed and interested enough to pursue him? According to Marino, Vrabel would be a value pick in the fifth round.
New England knows all about finding O-Line gems on Day 3 of the draft. Onwenu was a sixth-round selection. David Andrews wasn’t drafted. He was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2015. In fact, the only projected starter for the Patriots who was picked in the first round was left tackle Isaiah Wynn.
It would be interesting to see how fans would react to a second-generation Patriot. The franchise hasn’t had one of its most beloved and good players with a son in the NFL, let alone with a chance to follow in his father’s footsteps and play for the Patriots.
Vrabel could potentially be one of the nicer storylines locally if he does land with New England.
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