Pats Pulpit
When Mike Vrabel took over the New England Patriots in January 2025, he inherited a team that has had issues along the offensive line for multiple years. And so, in his first draft as head coach, the team went out to fix the issue: with its first and third selections, it added to the O-line.
We will talk about first-round pick Will Campbell in a future installment of our Patriots scouting reports. For now, let’s focus on third-rounder Jared Wilson — a player whose rookie season can best be summed up as a learning experience.
Name: Jared Wilson
Position: Center/Interior offensive line
Jersey number: 55
Opening day age: 23 (6/5/2003)
Measurements: 6’3”, 310 lbs, 10 3/4” hand size, 32 3/8” arm length, 80” wingspan, 4.84s 40-yard dash, 4.56s short shuttle, 32” vertical jump, 9’4” broad jump, 23 bench press reps, 9.82 Relative Athletic Score
NFL: New England Patriots (2025-) | College: Georgia (2021-24)
A three-star interior line recruit out of West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, NC, Wilson originally committed to play college football in his home state. However, after initially picking North Carolina over offers from Alabama, Ohio State and Auburn, among others, he backed out from what would have been an opportunity to play with quarterback Drake Maye. Instead, Wilson decommitted and later that very same day switched to Georgia.
His four-year career with the Bulldogs can be broken into two parts. Between his 2021 freshman season and 2023 junior campaign, Wilson served as a backup along the interior offensive line and started none of the 21 games he appeared in. However, after playing only 204 snaps as a center and guard during that span, he upped the ante in his final season: in 2024, the eventual second-team All-SEC selection was on the field for 810 snaps as a 12-game starting center.
Wilson left college on a high note, and his draft status reflected it as well. As noted above, the Patriots brought him aboard in the third round. Wilson went on to start 17 total games as a rookie, all of them as the team’s left guard.
Strengths: Wilson is an impressive athlete along the interior offensive line, who quickly transitions out of his stance and is a smooth mover in the open field. He has the necessary urgency and adequate vision as a pull and second-level blocker, and the speed (98th percentile 40-yard dash) to also be a factor in the screen game. His flexible lower body and natural balance allow him to successfully mirror as a pass protector, and to recover quickly when overextending in his pass sets. He furthermore is able to use his big hands to latch onto targets, and has the proper grip strength to keep his opponents in check once engaged.
Weaknesses: Wilson generally is a well-built player, but his length is unremarkable and puts pressure on his first punch to be precise — something that was not always the case as a...
