The Patriots went into the 2025 NFL Draft with needs along the offensive line, while adding explosiveness on offense was an area of "emphasis" for their top decision-makers.

As a result, New England went offense with its first four picks in the draft, all inside the top-100 selections, by picking OT Will Campbell, RB TreVeyon Henderson, WR Kyle Williams, and C Jared Wilson. The haul at the top of the draft has led to the Patriots receiving glowing reviews for their draft class, including being ranked as the best drafters in the NFL by The Athletic's Dane Brugler, USA Today, and many other media outlets.

Although offense headlined the Patriots draft, according to Arif Hasan's consensus media board of 112 draft analysts, LSU edge rusher Bradyn Swinson was among the biggest steals of the draft. The Patriots selected Swinson, a projected top-100 pick, with the 146th overall selection in the fifth round.

Swinson was selected 78 picks later than experts expected him to go in this year's draft. The other notable steals were QB Shedeur Sanders (Browns), pass-rusher Mike Green (Ravens), and Michigan CB Will Johnson (Cardinals). There are reasons that these players slid past their projected draft slots, but, in Swinson's case, it could've been as simple as an unusually strong class of edge rushers that received plenty of pre-draft hype.

"You're getting a guy that has pass rush ability, ability to get to the quarterback, an intelligent football player who can adjust to different schemes, and a quality person that will be a positive influence in the locker room," LSU edge rushers coach Kevin Peoples told Patriots.com. "He's a big personality. He's got a smile on his face, friendly, easy to talk with, and a good teammate. Someone that has an infectious energy that you like being around."

Adding the right kind of players to the locker room was another theme for Mike Vrabel's first draft as Patriots head coach. New England has targeted high-character football players throughout the offseason to build a winning culture. Peoples credits Swinson's stable support system for him being a positive addition to the locker room.

"He comes from a very good family. He's got a good mom and dad and good structure in his life. He's an intelligent guy. I'm confident that he'll be able to handle anything that's thrown at him with the expectations of the NFL because of his background, his parents, and his experience at LSU with Coach Kelly and the success he's had with developing players," Peoples said.

From a football standpoint, Peoples provided interesting context into the changes that led to Swinson's breakout season in Baton Rouge last fall. After parting ways with defensive coordinator Matt House, Tigers head coach Brian Kelly tabbed Blake Baker as his new DC for the 2024 season. Baker then brought Peoples with him to coach the edge rushers in his aggressive 4-3 scheme. When Baker describes his defense, it sounds similar to what Vrabel and defensive coordinator Terrell Williams want to install in New England: "A vertical, one-gap defense where we're creating havoc in the backfield," Baker said.

The Patriots coaching staff has talked about being more aggressive defensively to "play on the other side of the line of scrimmage" with a more attack-minded philosophy rather than the two-gapping system run under former head coach Bill Belichick and his disciples. While playing for Baker and Peoples last season, Swinson had a career-high 8.5 sacks and 60 total pressures. The 60 pressures tied Swinson for sixth in the nation last season.

"We asked him to rush more and drop less. We asked him to play a six technique over the tight end, which was new for him. He did an excellent job with that by showing that he could be physical versus the run and hold the point of attack versus offensive tackles. It was a good year for him to develop some different skill sets that he maybe wasn't always asked to do in the 3-4 defense.

"Conversely, he's got the skill set of being an outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense where he's got the drops and playing out of a two-point stance. He's going to be well-rounded," Peoples said.

Along with his ability to pressure the quarterback, Peoples told me that Swinson is a highly intelligent football player who is capable of making adjustments on the fly. To Peoples, Swinson's combination of pass rush skills and football IQ are why he's headed to the NFL.

"He's got pass-rush skills. He has the ability to get to the quarterback. That's a trait that obviously people are looking for, but the biggest thing about him is he's a very intelligent football player. He's able to make in-game adjustments. I mean, he's locked in. So, a combination of his ability to rush the quarterback and then his football intelligence and ability to be locked into a game with no situation being too big for him," Peoples said. "Hopefully, that will transition into the NFL."

While playing for a powerhouse in the top conference in college football, Swinson was also under the bright lights against SEC competition. The Pats rookie's ability to rise to the occasion in big moments against top competition is another thing that stands out to Peoples.

"The thing that is impressive about him is that there's no situation that we went into last year where it was too big for him. He's very confident in himself. He's a great competitor, and the bigger the stakes, the more you could feel the difference in his energy," said Peoples.

The Patriots double-dipped on the Bayou Bengals by selecting Swinson and his college teammate Will Campbell in the first round. Since one is a left tackle and the other an edge rusher, Campbell and Swinson went head-to-head in practice plenty over the last two years. As one would expect, iron sharpened iron for the Tigers with two NFL-caliber talents going toe-to-toe.

"Will is obviously an outstanding player, and Bradyn is an outstanding player, too. They went against each other a lot. They both benefited from playing against each other. We felt like going against Will every single day made us better, and hopefully, Will feels the same way about going against some of our guys, specifically Bradyn," Peoples said.

The Patriots hope that the LSU-to-NFL pipeline proves to be fruitful again, with Campbell providing blindside protection and Swinson disrupting opposing quarterbacks. Like they were in Baton Rouge, the rookie vs. rookie battles in training camp will be worth watching.

Pro Outlook with Eric Galko (Director of Football Operations and Player Personnel for the East-West Shrine Bowl)

After accepting his invitation last fall, Swinson dropped out of the East-West Shrine Bowl after the college football season. However, Galko and his staff went through the entire scouting process with Swinson circled as a player they wanted to invite to the college All-Star game.

For those unfamiliar with the game, the Shrine Bowl is a showcase for college players who have declared for the upcoming draft. All 32 teams had a contingent in Dallas this past January to evaluate players in a week's worth of practices and the game itself. It allows teams to see prospects in NFL systems against future pros, so the Shrine Bowl has tremendous value. Patriots wideout DeMario Douglas was a Shrine Bowl standout in 2023.

As for Swinson, Galko described the Patriots rookie as a "high character" guy who will compete immediately for a role as a situational pass-rusher.

"Bradyn is a high-character guy. A guy the program speaks super highly of and is immensely talented as an edge rusher. Really blossomed this year and had a breakout year. I think the best football is still ahead of him," Galko told Patriots.com. "The people in that program speak highly of how Bradyn has grown, how mature he is, and how prepared he is. A quieter, more introverted guy to start with who has a great chance to be a good leader and part of a rotation in the NFL.

"Certainly better as a rotational pass-rush specialist to start. He really showed this year that he can get around the edge and go through guys but also finish on the quarterback. He was a great pick where they got him, and I wish we had him at the Shrine Bowl. He's a heck of a player and a great person, but he'll no doubt have a chance to be a part of the rotation [in New England]."

Galko also shed some light on the perceived fall for Swinson in the draft. In the media, Swinson was a projected top-100 pick. Galko believes he fell to the fifth round for a few reasons. First, it was an incredibly deep edge rusher class, so some prospects had to fall. The other reason Galko pointed to was that NFL teams view Swinson as a situational player.

"He entered the draft process trying to crack the top 100, and it just didn't happen for him. He's best suited to be a rotational guy to start in the NFL and not be a full-time starter. He might never develop [into a full-time starter], which is okay," Galko said. "Guys like him will still be early day three picks, so maybe a little later than I expected [at No. 146], but it's about right. A strong edge rusher class, too. I think those two things led to a perfect storm of him falling where he did, but he's still a really good player. In most draft classes, he'd be a top-100 pick."

Last season, the Patriots ranked last in the NFL in sacks (28) and 29th in team pressure rate (28.7%). As a result, the Pats decision-makers have actively shopped for pass-rush help this offseason, including making a splash signing in free agency by adding DT Milton Williams along with edge rushers Harold Landry and fellow LSU alum K'Lavon Chaisson. New England waited until day three of the draft to reinforce the defensive line but did so with two prospects that many projected to go higher in Swinson and Florida State DT Joshua Farmer.

The Patriots needed to bolster their pass rush this offseason and took steps toward doing so, with Swinson entering the mix as an impactful pass-rusher off the edge.

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