NFL Draft 2023: Patriots hosting projected first-round offensive tackle Broderick Jones for pre-draft visit

The New England Patriots are set to host one of the top offensive tackles in this year’s draft class on a top-30 visit.

As first reported by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Broderick Jones has a meeting set with New England. It will be the second time the Georgia product and the Patriots will meet, as the two sides also talked during the NFL Scouting Combine in February.

The left tackle on Georgia’s back-to-back national championship teams has a chance to be the first player at his position to come off the board in this year’s draft. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Jones moves like a tight end at times, exploding out of his stance — he posted a 1.97 second 10-yard split at the Combine — to block on the move or in space.

Jones and New England would be an interesting fit, as the Patriots typically prefer experienced college lineman, especially within the top 50 selections. Throughout Jones’ collegiate career, he started just 19 games for the Bulldogs and still has work to do on his overall technique.

However, his athletic upside and physicality cements his ceiling as a future All-Pro at the position.

Jones marks the second offensive tackle New England has reportedly met with on a top-30 visit, joining North Dakota State’s Cody Mauch (who some project to be a guard in the NFL). The former Bulldog will also meet with the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans, teams that pick one and three spots ahead of New England, respectively.

After poor tackle play last season, the Patriots added veterans Calvin Anderson and Riley Reiff in free agency to join Trent Brown, Conor McDermott, and Andrew Stueber. Former first-round draft pick Isaiah Wynn, meanwhile, remains unsigned in free agency.

With question marks still at the position for 2023 and beyond, New England is expected to address the position early, and perhaps more than once, in the draft.