FOXBORO — The Patriots entered training camp giving rookie Jared Wilson every chance to earn a starting role. It didn’t take long for Wilson to seize the moment.
Wilson, a 2025 third-round pick, has been practicing as the Patriots’ starting left guard since last week. He entered camp as the team’s top backup at both center, behind Garrett Bradbury, and left guard, behind Cole Strange. Bradbury went down with an injury last week, bumping Ben Brown up the depth chart to the top spot at center, Strange down to backup center and Wilson up to top left guard. Bradbury returned to practice Monday, but Wilson stayed as the team’s top left guard.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said Friday that starting lineups are not set in stone with more than a month to go, but that Wilson has deserved the opportunity to practice with starters.
“It’s a great thing, especially coming from Vrabel, coming from a guy who’s played 14 years in this league,” Wilson said in response to Vrabel. “That’s a good thing to hear, but at the end of the day, you got to come into work every day, still got to earn it, still going to prove it to your teammates that you’re worthy of it.”
Wilson began his college career as a guard but moved to center in 2024 as a redshirt junior, starting 12 games. At 6-foot-3, 310 pounds, Wilson is slightly undersized for a guard but makes up for it with his athleticism. His 4.84-second 40-yard dash ranks in the 99th percentile for an interior offensive lineman. He also impressed with a 1.72-second 10-yard split (91st percentile), 32-inch vertical leap (88th percentile), 112-inch broad jump (94th percentile) and 4.56-second short shuttle (80th percentile).
If he starts at left guard, it would mean an all-rookie left side of the line protecting quarterback Drake Maye with No. 4 overall pick Will Campbell cemented at left tackle.
Wilson and Campbell didn their pre-draft training together and got to know each other well over the two-to-three-month span.
“We just talk about how fun it’s going to be,” Wilson said. “It’s just two rookies next to each other, left guard and left tackle on the blind side. We know it’s gonna be a challenge every day. Teams are gonna bring their best on us. Just gotta be ready.”
With Campbell at left tackle and Wilson at left guard, Bradbury has been the team’s top center with Mike Onwenu at right guard and Morgan Moses at right tackle. If that lineup stands, then Onwenu would be the only returning starter from an offensive line that struggled mightily in 2024.
