The New England Patriots are on the verge of making a large financial commitment to Stefon Diggs’ wide receiver replacement, whoever that may be. As such, their ability to pay big for their most pressing roster need — edge rusher — will be hindered.
They are expected to address the position with their first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Sitting at 31st overall, the Patriots will have their pick of a handful of projected first-round edge rushers. They used their first top-30 visit of this draft cycle on the University of Oklahoma’s defensive end R Mason Thomas.
Thomas is an interesting prospect.
First, and arguably most interestingly, the “R” in R Mason is not short for anything. It is not an abbreviation or initial. The young man’s first name is simply R Mason.
Secondly, the AP All-American edge rusher stands just 6-foot-2 and weighs only 242 pounds.
This puts him in the bottom fifth percentile of players at his position.
Despite his “less than ideal” frame, Thomas recorded 15.5 sacks in his final two seasons at OU.
ESPN’s Matt Miller has Thomas as the 42nd-best prospect in this draft class.
“An undersized speed rusher, Thomas has the quickness off the corner to be a high-end stand-up rusher with Nik Bonitto-like ability,” Miller wrote. “There will be questions about his lack of bulk and length, but at just 21 years old there's room for him to further develop a power game. Thomas' calling card is his elite bend and speed -- something that would be a value to teams that run 3-4 defenses.”
Each of the Patriots' top-three leading sack getters last season are around Thomas’ height, with Harold Landry III measured significantly shorter. So it is apparent that height does not hold much water on head coach Mike Vrabel’s defense, whatever that may mean.