Patriots draft hulking tackle in Round 7 with impressive 40-yard dash time

The Patriots added some hulking tackle depth early in the seventh round.

With pick No. 220 overall, New England drafted Missouri tackle Marcus Bryant, who stands 6-foot-7 and weighs in at 320 pounds.

Bryant spent the first four years of his college career at SMU — where he started 29 games — before transferring to Missouri, where he started all 13 games at left tackle in 2024. The 22-year-old has 34⅝ inch arms and a massive 83⅛ inch wingspan, but is fleet-footed for his size: He ran a 4.97 second 40-yard dash.

Though the Patriots drafted Will Campbell at No. 4 overall and signed Morgan Moses in free agency, it makes sense that Mike Vrabel is trying to cultivate as much tackle depth as possible given how weak they were at the position in 2024.

NFL Media draft expert Lance Zierlein predicted Bryant would be drafted in either Round 6 or 7.

“Bryant is a tall tackle whose upper-body strength and punch timing are critical in making up for his lack of natural knee-bend,” Zierlein writes. “He’s an average run blocker who might be able to reduce his run-block losses with fewer outside-zone reps. Bryant has the tools to provide pass protection in the NFL, but he needs to keep working on the consistency of his technique.”

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