Ohio State defensive lineman Kayden McDonald visited with the New England Patriots for a Top-30 visit
Ohio State defensive lineman Kayden McDonald shot up draft boards in 2025.
Similar to his teammate Arvell Reese, McDonald was pretty unknown heading into the 2025 season, with a major responsibility to replace some of the Buckeyes' best players that led them to the National Championship.
He replaced them and then some.
McDonald is an incredible athlete, and he is built like a fire hydrant. He is 6'2", weighing in at 330 pounds. However, at that size, he moves like a ballerina. McDonald eats up blocks in the middle of a defense and absolutely can be the focal point of an entire unit at the next level.
The great part about where he stands in this year's draft projection is that he is outside of the upper echelon of players, so he is not going to go in the Top-15. It is also believed that the defensive tackle position isn't the most highly valued, so he is going to go in the first round, but will likely just be going at the end of it.
The good part about that is that he will be going to a contender.
On Thursday, it was announced that McDonald visited the New England Patriots for one of their Top-30 pre-draft visits. Further, he was the projected pick in Daniel Jeremiah's latest mock draft.
Prior to 2025, McDonald had just 20 tackles and one pass breakup to his name.
In 2025 for Ohio State, he had an incredible year not only by his standards but by any standard. He finished the season with 65 total tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, and 3.0 sacks on the year. He had two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery on the season.
Stats never tell the full story for a defensive lineman, but they tell a darn good one for McDonald. Statistically, he was fantastic in 2025, and from the eye test, he also brought everything to the table.
He is a force to be reckoned with, and wherever he goes in the NFL Draft, he is going to make an immediate impact from the interior of whatever defensive line he joins.
So far, McDonald has been mocked as high as pick No. 21 to the Pittsburgh Steelers and now as low as pick No. 30 to the New England Patriots. The most common landing spot is at Pick No. 28 to the Houston Texans.
Wherever he lands, he is landing with a winner and will be in the mix for the Playoffs and for a Lombardi Trophy in his first season.
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