After hearing from the Patriots top decision-makers earlier in the week, the attention at the NFL Scouting Combine turned to the on-field workouts inside Lucas Oil Stadium on Thursday night.

During his press conference on Tuesday morning in Indianapolis, EVP of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf pointed to edge rusher as a need for the Patriots. With top pass-rusher K'Lavon Chaisson slated to be an unrestricted free agent and veteran Harold Landry III coming off a knee injury in 2025, Wolf confirmed what many of us believed to be true: it's a strong edge rusher class, which could allow the Pats to fill a need.

"It's a fairly deep class at that position that's obviously an area of need for our team, so it matches up nicely," Wolf said, adding later what the Patriots look for at the position. "Pass rush, speed and violence, explosiveness, first-step quickness, and the ability to win in multiple ways. You can't just be a run around the hoop guy at this level. There's some guys in college that are able to be successful that way, but you need different things in your toolbox [in the NFL]."

Last offseason, the Pats targeted Landry (6-2, 252lbs) and Chaisson (6-3, 254lbs) in free agency. They also drafted Bradyn Swinson (6-3, 255lbs) in the fifth round and second-year edge rusher Elijah Ponder (6-1, 258) was a nice find in undrafted free agency – that ~255-pound speed-rusher mold appears to be their type. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel added that New England met with "a bunch" of EDGE prospects in Indy. Potential first-rounders Texas A&M's Cashius Howell and Missouri's Zion Young then confirmed to reporters that they met with the Patriots in Indy.

Now that we know the Patriots are looking to target edge rushers in the draft, the question is who are the best fits that will be available when they're slated to pick? New England currently holds the 31st overall pick in the first round coming off its Super Bowl trip, which is a good problem to have. Due to the depth of the edge rusher class, the Patriots might still have a chance at an impact defender late on day one or even on day two. The challenge in evaluating this edge rusher class is that there isn't much separating the late-day one, early day-two cluster, so it's really about picking your preferred flavor of skill sets, body types, and culture fits. As is the case in every draft, there will be hits and misses. Even in an intriguing crop like this one, not every prospect will pan out.

Although the Patriots brass emphasized the edge rusher class, Wolf also noted that New England would like to add some youth into its inside linebacker room behind veterans Robert Spillane, Jahlani Tavai, and Christian Elliss, while LB Jack Gibbens is a restricted free agent this offseason. You can also never have too many interior defensive linemen, especially ones that can get after the passer, and NT Khyiris Tonga is set to be an unrestricted free agent when the 2026 league year begins in March.

Here are five takeaways as the defensive front seven took centerstage inside Lucas Oil Stadium on Thursday night in Indianapolis.

1. Potential First-Round Edge Rushers Measure in as Length Outliers (here we go again…)

Yup, it's that time of year again: arm lengths! No, we didn't take a time machine back to last year when we debated for months about the importance of Will Campbell's arm length measurement.

Outside of height, weight, and athletic testing, we used to only really care about quarterback hand size and arm length for OTs. Now, we've added wingspan as a key measurement and it's something that we analyze for pretty much every position, especially in the trenches. If you're an outlier in any way, we will spend way too much time arguing about it. The importance of arm length is that the longer you are in the trenches, the faster you can establish contact with your opponent, which allows you to control engagements and have more margin for error. Wingspan measures how wide your upper body is, so trench players with larger wingspans are harder to get around and occupy more space. For defensive players, good length also gives them a larger tackle radius.

The two edge rushers who are length outliers this cycle are projected top pick Rueben Bain (Miami) and Texas A&M's Cashius Howell. Media consensus boards have Bain as a projected top-five pick, while Howell was supposed to go somewhere in the teens. On Thursday, Bain measured in with 30 ⅞" arms (third-lowest among EDGE since 1999) and a 77 ½" wingspan (10th percentile). Howell's arms are even shorter, measuring in with the shortest arm length of any edge rusher at the combine since at least 1999 (30 ¼") and a 74 ¼" wingspan.

Since 1999, no edge rusher with sub-31-inch arms has ever been a top-100 pick. That will change come April as both Bain and Howell are still going early. My guess is that the tape and production on one of the best defenses in college football last year will win out for Bain, as it did for Campbell last year, because the rest of the draft profile for the Miami standout is just too good. There was some buzz in Indy that Bain could fall out of the top-10 because of his unique dimensions, but it would be absolutely crazy if he made it to 31.

We should pay closer attention to Howell for the Patriots, though. By having great speed, bend, and a variety of pass rush moves, Howell logged 11.5 sacks and 41 total pressures for the Aggies last season. There's some boom-or-bust to his run defense, but he plays with good effort and uses his short-area quickness to slip blocks. His game has shades of Harold Landry's in the way he bends and can threaten both the inside and outside edges, while his 6-2, 255-pound frame is right in the Patriots sweet spot at the position. Howell didn't post the most impressive jumps, but he recovered with an 88th percentile 40-yard dash (4.59s) and checks most of New England's boxes as outlined by Wolf.

Although most fans are probably tired of the arm length debates, Bain and Howell's potential slides in this year's draft could directly impact the edge-needy Patriots.

2. Testing Numbers Are in for R Mason Thomas (Oklahoma) and T.J. Parker (Clemson)

Along with possibly Howell, a few prospects from the cluster of edge rushers expected to be in the Patriots range at the backend of the first round also went through Thursday night's workout in Indy.

Unfortunately, we didn't get athletic testing numbers for Akheem Mesidor (Miami) or Zion Young (Missouri). Young participated in the on-field work, but didn't test. Two prospects who did work out were R Mason Thomas (Oklahoma) and T.J. Parker (Clemson). Thomas was my pre-combine favorite out of this cluster. However, Parker's workout might make me revisit his tape. My initial take on Parker was that he was a little rigid and heavy (263lbs) for the Patriots scheme. However, Parker posted a very respectable 9.33 out of 10 relative athletic score and his movements were smooth during the drills, so maybe I underrated his athleticism.

As for Thomas, he posted a 4.67s 40-yard dash with a 1.63s 10-yard split (55th percentile). It wasn't quite the burst score that we were expecting from Thomas, who has question marks about whether he can be a three-down player at the next level with his 6-2, 241-pound frame. The Oklahoma product is on the lighter side for early-down edge work against the run, so there are concerns about his ability to be more than a designated pass-rusher in obvious passing situations. Thomas's 40-yard dash times aren't disqualifying, but the first round might be a little rich given his poor size and just above-average speed scores.

3. UCF Edge Rusher Malachi Lawrence a Potential Day-Two Patriots Fit

The one edge rusher who moved to the top of my post-combine watch list is Central Florida EDGE Malachi Lawrence, who posted the second-best relative athletic score among the edge rushers who participated in Indy (9.90 out of 10). At 6-4, 253 pounds, Lawrence fell right into the Patriots size thresholds and he then dazzled with a 4.52s 40-yard dash with a blazing 1.59s 10-yard split (87th percentile). As his athletic testing can attest, Lawrence's best trait is winning with pure speed and a deep bag of pass-rush moves. Lawrence will need to develop his run defense to be more disciplined on the edge, but my limited tape exposure to him before the combine was intriguing. He had one of the best workouts of any prospect on Thursday night.

4. Top Performers at Defensive Tackle Puts Spotlight on Three Sleeper Prospects

Based on the comments from the Patriots top brass at the combine, it doesn't sound like Vrabel and Wolf view the interior defensive line as a major need for New England this offseason.

Given that the Patriots have standout DTs Milton Williams and Christian Barmore under contract, that makes sense, especially after New England made a huge free-agent splash by signing Williams to a lucrative contract last offseason. The Pats seem to be interested in bringing back NT Khyiris Tonga. Cory Durden and Leonard Taylor III were pleasant surprises, and 2025 fourth-rounder Joshua Farmer showed promise in his rookie season. That said, every defense needs depth along the defensive line.

Although it seems unlikely that the Patriots would target a defensive tackle early in the draft, it's worth noting that the top of this class is filled with space-eaters rather than penetrators, which is a bit of a departure from the undersized pass-rusher prototype we have seen in recent drafts. First-round hopefuls like Lee Hunter (6-3, 318) and Caleb Banks (6-6, 327) have some lateral quickness to avoid blocks, but they're big boys who are tough to move, as are Kayden McDonald (6-2, 326) and Christen Miller (6-3, 321) – pure nose tackles might be back.

Those names we listed aren't going to "wow" anyone with their workout numbers necessarily, but a trio of deeper sleepers did impress as more gap-penetrating rushers. Penn State's Zane Durant is the first name in this cluster, as Durant posted the fifth-fastest 40-yard dash by a DT prospect since 2003 (4.75s). He also looked smooth during on-field drills, showing good lower-body bend and fluidity as he weaved through the bags. Durant is at his best flying off the ball to slip into gaps or in a stunt-heavy defensive line, which would fit in New England.

The other prospects who stood out were Gracen Halton (Oklahoma) and Kaleb Proctor (Southeastern Louisiana). Along with Durant, those two finished in the top six at the position in relative athletic score (out of 10): Halton (9.23), Durant (9.20), and Proctor (9.13). If you want run-stuffers, you can turn on the tape and see the top-50 guys plug rushing lanes. However, if you want those explosive interior rushers, Durant, Halton, and Proctor caught the eye.

5. LBs Anthony Hill Jr. and Jacob Rodriguez to Day-Two Linebacker Options for the Patriots

During a smaller media scrum in Indianapolis, Wolf told local reporters that the Patriots hope to add an off-ball linebacker in the draft to bring some youth to a veteran roster. As mentioned, captain Robert Spillane anchors a more experienced group, so the Pats adding developmental upside while starting to prepare for possible future needs is on the offseason to-do list.

Although Georgia LB C.J. Allen didn't test, Hill Jr. ran well in his 40-yard dash (4.52s) at 6-2, 238 pounds to flash the athleticism that shows through his versatility on tape. Overall, the Texas linebacker posted an elite 9.93 out of 10 relative athletic score. Hill is a playmaker who can play the run from off the ball, blitz from the interior or from the outside, and drop into coverage. He might go inside the top-50, though, which could be too rich for the Pats to take a linebacker.

The other linebacker who is now at the top of my watch list is Jacob Rodriguez, who was receiving plenty of hype around the combine this week. Rodriguez forced 13 career fumbles, had four interceptions in 2025, and 11.0 tackles for loss last season. The Texas Tech linebacker was always around the ball, flashing great instincts to stay a step ahead of the action and then did what he needed to do with an 9.23 out of 10 relative athletic score from his combine workout. Rodriguez is projected to go in the middle of day two.

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer