Could Patriots Target Prospect Who Has Mike Vrabel Confidant ‘On Speed Dial?’
Donovan Ezeiruaku would fill a need for the Patriots, and he just so happens to have mutual connections to head coach Mike Vrabel.
Ezeiruaku enters the 2025 NFL Draft as one of the top edge rushers after he played under Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien in 2024.
O’Brien is well known to Patriots fans after he spent six seasons on Bill Belichick’s staff (2007-2011, 2023). O’Brien also gave Vrabel his start on the NFL sidelines when the former Texans head coach hired Vrabel to his Houston staff (2014). O’Brien and Vrabel remain close as depicted when the latter hired Doug Marrone as New England’s offensive line coach this offseason. O’Brien praised the hiring of Marrone, who spent last season at BC.
Maybe the O’Brien-Vrabel connection could bear fruit in the draft, as well
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“Obviously, Coach O’Brien is somebody I can call. Got him on speed dial if I really need to just to ask advice,” Ezeiruaku said while appearing on NFL Network’s “The Insiders” during the Senior Bowl. “He’s the type of coach that will give me interview questions over the phone just to make sure I’m fully prepared. That’s how he was during the season. It was really just great to have him.”
Drafting Ezeiruaku wouldn’t just be doing O’Brien a favor, of course. New England badly needs pass-rush help and Ezeiruaku, who played four seasons in Chestnut Hill, would help address such need. He compiled the second-most sacks in college football (16 1/2) during his senior campaign.
The 2024 ACC Defensive Player of the Year ranked No. 28 on draft expert Daniel Jeremiah’s top 50 list. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler ranked Ezeiruaku No. 30 in his top 100, the seventh-best edge rusher in the class.
Ezeiruaku won’t be New England’s selection at No. 4 overall. But if the Patriots draft an offensive tackle with that pick, they realistically could target the opposite side in the second round. The Patriots hold the 38th pick and their two third-rounders give them a chance to jump up the draft board.
“He’s tremendous,” O’Brien said when discussing Ezeiruaku on NESN’s “Foxboro Rush” podcast.
“Having been in that league and been a head coach in that league, that’s the kind of guy you want in that locker room, right? He’s already a pro,” O’Brien continued. “He’s the same guy every day and he’s a very bright guy. He’s a great ambassador for BC football and I think at the end of the day, anybody that has an opportunity to draft this guy — at the defensive end position he can rush the passer, he plays good against the run. He plays hard. He’s smart. You can do different things with him. You’d want this guy in your locker room no doubt about it.”
Ezeiruaku will have plenty of competition for the Patriots’ pick, and others. Seventeen of Brugler’s top 100 players are edge rushers, including 10 in the top 50. There are 13 defensive tackles in Brugler’s top 100, as well. It’s a very, very deep class along the defensive line.
That depth bodes well for the Patriots. We’ll find out in April whether it impacted Ezeiruaku himself.