The 2024 season already prepared the New England Patriots for life without David Andrews manning the center position. What it also showed, however, is that replacing the longtime starter and team captain will not be easy. There is a chance one of the centers currently under contract will step up and do so, particularly in 2025, but the outlook remains somewhat unclear.

Luckily for the Patriots, there are some suitable developmental candidates available in this year’s draft. Among them is Texas’ Jake Majors.

Hard facts

Name: Jake Majors

Position: Center

School: Texas

Opening day age: 23 (1/17/2002)

Measurements: 6’3 3/8”, 306 lbs, 76” wingspan, 30 3/8” arm length, 9 7/8” hand size, 25 bench press reps, N/A Relative Athletic Score

Experience

Colleges: Texas (2020-24)

Career statistics: 57 games (56 starts) | 3,749 offensive snaps, 71 special teams snaps | 54 pressures surrendered (3 sacks, 8 hits, 43 hurries) | 20 penalties

Accolades: Honorable mention All-Big 12 (2023), Academic first-team All-Big 12 (2021, 2022, 2023)

Earning All-American, All-State, and All-District honors at Prosper High School in his Texas hometown, Majors received 14 scholarship offers from colleges such as Oklahoma, Stanford and Boston College. He eventually decided to stay in his home state, joining Texas in 2020. After appearing in just three games as a true freshman and eventually redshirting, he became a fixture along the Longhorns’ offensive line.

Over his final four seasons in college, Majors started all 54 games he appeared in and anchored one of the better offensive lines in the country. His 56 total career starts are a program record, and he was recognized for his work both on the field and in the classroom on multiple occasions.

Draft profile

Expected round: Day 3 | Consensus big board: No. 218 | Patriots meeting: Pro Day

Strengths: At 6-foot-3, 308 pounds, Majors offers an NFL-caliber frame and combines it with a solid technical foundation. Neither the most physically imposing player nor possessing any elite athletic traits, he wins in pass protection with his ability to take advantage of a low center of gravity and sound pad level. He does not stun defenders upon first contact, but places his hands well and stays compact. A lefty as a snapper, he also transitions quickly from delivering the ball to getting into his blocking assignment.

As a run blocker who played in a diverse scheme, Majors has shown that he can move to the second or serve as a puller. He also brings the necessary toughness to the fight, and will make sure to finish his blocks before letting up.

Majors offers extensive experience at the center position, and is comfortable serving as a leader along the offensive line. While not the most talented member of Texas’ O-line in his four seasons as starter, he was a glue player up front due to his ability to communicate and properly identify what was going on on the other side of the ball. In general, he sees the field well and appears to have the football IQ to make the transition from Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns offense to the more nuanced pro level.

Weaknesses: His height and weight are OK for a center prospect, but Majors’ lack of length could be a problem at the next level. Both his 76-inch wingspan and his 30 3/8-inch arm length are on the lower end of the spectrum and could pose an issue against defensive tackles. His lack of length is accompanied by a lack of top-notch athletic skill. He is a willing and effective mover, but not the most agile or speedy when it comes to getting upfield or disengaging from combo blocks.

Major’s margin of error therefore seems rather small, and he has to rely on his technique and his advanced understanding of line plays and angles to come away victoriously. Even so, he hardly overwhelms defenders.

Patriots preview

What would be his role? Majors was a center in college and he will be a center in the NFL. Where he will fit onto the Patriots’ current depth chart at the position, though, remains to be seen. He could compete for the starting role against the likes of current frontrunner Garrett Bradbury and former first-round pick Cole Strange, but it seems more likely that he would remain as a developmental depth option early on — one potentially being groomed to take over in 2026.

What is his growth potential? Given that Majors is not the most naturally gifted athlete or standard-size prospect, his ceiling might be on the lower side compared to other interior offensive linemen in this draft. That being said, he could become an eventual starter in the league with some lead-up time to get used to NFL defensive line play and the requirements of calling protections and getting the entire O-line on the same page.

Does he have positional versatility? Based on his college usage, the answer to that question is a resounding “no.” Majors was a center-only player at Texas, with not a single one of his 3,749 offensive career snaps at any other position. He has the smarts and build to also line up at guard if need be, but that is merely a projection at this point in time. The lone exception is special teams, where he played a combined 71 snaps on the field goal/extra point protection unit in 2021 and 2023.

Why the Patriots? With David Andrews gone, the Patriots need to find some long-term stability at center. There is no guarantee a projected late-round pick such as Majors will be able to provide it, but checks several of the boxes the team is looking for in its players from a character perspective. Add a functional skillset and plenty of experience, and you get a prospect who could be groomed behind the scenes.

Why not the Patriots? The Patriots currently have three centers under contract: Cole Strange and Ben Brown both started games in 2024, while Garrett Bradbury was signed to a two-year deal in free agency. The latter appears to be the frontrunner to win the job this year, but if the team feels good about Strange’s longterm outlook in particular, the need to draft a center such as Majors becomes minimal.

One-sentence verdict: Majors is not the flashiest of offensive linemen, but somebody who has shown the ability to lead the unit and play at a high level despite some shortcomings.