The injuries are hitting new levels for the New England Patriots. That includes at offensive line, where the Patriots have been thin all season long.
Monday’s injury report listed a total of five offensive linemen. That doesn’t include Greg Van Roten and Mike Onwenu, who are also on IR right now. Things could be worse, too, with Will Campbell avoiding a major injury after exiting the Week 5 win over the Las Vegas Raiders early.
When Campbell went down, it forced first-round rookie Caleb Lomu into early action. He lived up to the task and seemed like he’d be forced to take over at left tackle until Campbell made his quick recovery. From there, it was back to his backup role. That is, until injuries started pouring in during Week 6.
Three linemen went down in Week 6. That included Morgan Moses, Alijah Vera-Tucker, and Ben Brown. It was Moses’ injury that forced Lomu back into action again, this time on the right side of the offensive line. For a second week in a row, he lived up to expectations and more.
New England Patriots Rookie Caleb Lomu Graded by PFF
When the Patriots drafted Lomu, he was seen as a high-upside but raw tackle. So, the hope was to give him 2026 off, maybe bringing him in as a sixth offensive lineman or for the occasional work to adjust to the speed of the game. Then, with time to develop, he could move from left tackle to right tackle to eventually replace Moses.
Injuries aren’t letting that happen. However, for anyone watching Lomu play, they’d have to be excited with how well he’s playing. Even PFF has noticed that over the past couple of weeks.
In the past two weeks, when Lomu played extensively due to injuries at each tackle position, Lomu has seen 59 pass snaps. He didn’t allow a single sack or a single quarterback hit during that time. He’s only allowed one quarterback hurry and one total pressure. Drake Maye has to love that.
PFF ranked that as a 99.0 for Pass Block Efficiency. In total, that’s also an 80.3 Pass Block Grade.
PFF grades are on a 0-100 scale. That comes from a play-by-play breakdown, where players are graded on a -2 to +2 scale. A 0 grade for a player is a neutral or expected outcome. 60 ends up being an average grade by PFF standards.
Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Praised Caleb Lomu
On Monday, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was asked about Caleb Lomu. In particular, how he’s developed early in his rookie season.
“Just trying to get ready each and every week,” Vrabel said. “It’s a lot of new things for him. It’s a new league for him. Coming from college, being 21, and it’s a tough position to be able to go out there and play. I think he’s gotten better. I think that’s the goal, to continue to invest in the young guys, coach them and know that that’s going to pay dividends down the road.”
Down the road has come a lot sooner than they previously expected it to be. Still, he has stood up to a couple of tough tests so far, even if Vrabel is right and the Patriots rookie does have room to grow and improve.
Now, the Patriots are on a short week. It isn’t clear if Lomu will be forced into a starting role due to injuries or not. However, he’s clearly proven that he’s ready when his number does get called.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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