The New England Patriots were set to pick in the first round at No. 31, a far cry from where they have been on the draft board over the last few years. It allowed for much speculation about who they would pick, with most believing it would be an offensive tackle or a pass rusher, and, given how the cards were falling as their time on the clock wound down, it was unsurprising to see them trade up.
Almost all of the tackles were off the board, leaving just Utah's Caleb Lomu left and one team ahead of them that was expected to take him. That led Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf to pull off an in-division trade to move up three spots and take the ninth offensive tackle of the night, moving the Bills back for the second time.
That allowed New England to get their (hopeful) future franchise right tackle and Buffalo more draft picks to add to their stockpile. So on the surface, it looks like a win-win for all involved.
However, the Bills' decision to trade with their biggest rival, one who stole the division in 2025 and made it all the way to the Super Bowl, something they have been incapable of doing, is going to prove to be a massive mistake, even if they add some solid selections with their remaining draft picks.
The Bills just allowed the Patriots to build a fortress around Drake Maye
One of the weakest parts of the Patriots' roster in recent years has been their offensive line, and although it was far improved for the 2025 season, Drake Maye was still sacked 47 times during the regular season, shockingly 13 more than the previous year.
It has given a team like the Bills a good opportunity to get at the quarterback, even if their defense wasn't necessarily top-tier, and now that they have added a player like Lomu, along with the free agent additions of Alijah Vera-Tucker, it won't be as easy to rattle or knock down Maye in the future.
They now have a chance to solidly protect the quarterback for years to come, with Will Campbell holding down left tackle, Jared Wilson at center, and Mike Onwenu at right guard. The expectation is that Morgan Moses will mentor Lomu this upcoming season and groom him to be his successor for the 2027 season.
That means the Patriots' offensive line will be nearly bulletproof for the foreseeable future, and that is not good news for the Bills, who know a good way to get a win against them is to disrupt Maye's focus and get him to the ground.
It won't take long for them to seriously regret their decision to let the Patriots trade up, and that's just another reason for Patriots' fans to be excited about Lomu.
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