While their left tackle spot is the New England Patriots’ primary need heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, the left guard position also is a major question mark. There are more options available than at tackle, but none of them are established to a point where they can be locked into the starting spot.

Dylan Fairchild, a projected mid-round selection in the draft, would not change this. However, the Georgia guard is still an intriguing prospect who has future starter — and future tone-setter — written all over him.

Hard facts

Name: Dylan Fairchild

Position: Guard/Interior offensive line

School: Georgia

Opening day age: 22 (5/8/2003)

Measurements: 6’5 2/8”, 318 lbs, 80 3/4” wingspan, 33” arm length, 10” hand size, 27 1/2” vertical jump, 9’3” broad jump, N/A Relative Athletic Score

Experience

Colleges: Georgia (2021-24)

Career statistics: 34 games (24 starts) | 1,451 offensive snaps, 179 special teams snaps | 14 pressures surrendered (1 sacks, 1 hits, 12 hurries) | 5 penalties

Accolades: Second-team All-American (2024), Second-team All-SEC (2024)

A Georgia native, who played high school football at West Forsyth in his hometown of Cumming, Fairchild was a multi-sport athlete growing up; besides playing both ways on the football squad, he also was a standout wrestler. His future was on the gridiron, however, and more specifically along the offensive line: he was a four-star O-line recruit and one of the top recruits in the state during his high school career.

He eventually decided to stay home, joining the University of Georgia over offers from other high-profile programs such as Alabama, LSU or Texas A&M. He redshirted as a true sophomore and played on the scout team in Year 2, but eventually took over as the Bulldogs’ starting left guard in 2023. In all, he started 24 games over his final two collegiate seasons.

Fairchild opted to forgo his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft. He was invited to the Scouting Combine.

Draft profile

Expected round: 3-4 | Consensus big board: No. 125 | Patriots meeting: N/A

Strengths: Fairchild is a well-built prospect who offers a good combination of height, weight and length. He is quick out of his stance and goes into wrestling mode right away; he is a physical player both as a run blocker and pass protector, and knows how to marry his feet and his base. He has a good grip and powerful upper body, knowing how to use his hands to better his opponents. He combines all that with a sturdy base when faced with bull rushers.

Not easily driven backwards, he has shown the lateral mobility to mirror and react to line games up front. A good run blocker already, he drives his legs and has adequate balance. He also can be an effective pull blocker and generally reaches his landmarks at the second level, whether coming off solo or combo blocks.

Weaknesses: Even though he has 24 starts on his résumé, Fairchild is still a relatively raw player and it shows. His pad level is inconsistent, prompting him to open his chest and subsequently lose the leverage game; he needs to add to his arsenal of counter moves to free himself from situations like those; he can get better in the open field and has to improve his angles.

In general, he needs technical refinement as far as his hands and feet are concerned. He is capable of doing the right things and has done so against SEC-level competition, but is a bit on-off at times. More experience should help with some, if not most, of his issues.

Patriots preview

What would be his role? Fairchild has been a guard throughout his college career and will remain one heading toward the NFL. The question would be whether or not he could compete for a starting role right out of the gate. Based on his college tape, we are leaning “no” at the moment. That said, he would be working with a seasoned offensive line coach in Doug Marrone and should compete for the starting left guard job if he is a quick learner and able to make the most of his live reps, especially in preseason.

What is his growth potential? Fairchild’s shortcomings are not of a physical nature; he is built like an NFL-caliber guard. The problem is that he is still inconsistent applying his tools and needs fine-tuning from a technical perspective. If that happens, he has all the makings of a functional starter at the pro level.

Does he have positional versatility? Fairchild spent a majority of his college career at left guard, but he also has seen some action on the right side; 134 of his 1,451 career snaps (9.2%) came from that spot. He is a guard-only prospect at this stage in his development, though, outside of a handful of snaps as a protector on special teams.

Why the Patriots? As noted above, left guard is one of the Patriots’ biggest needs at the moment. Fairchild has all of the necessary tools to address the issue, either in 2025 or more realistically from 2026 on. He also appears to fit what head coach Mike Vrabel is looking for from a mentality perspective: Fairchild is fighter in the trenches, capable of setting the tone for the rest of the line.

Why not the Patriots? If the Patriots are looking for more immediate clarity at left guard in the draft, Fairchild might not be their type of flavor. There is a chance he starts Day 1, but the team might view him as more of a developmental option due to the raw nature of his game.

One-sentence verdict: If Fairchild is available in the early fourth round, and the Patriots still have not added a guard at that point, he makes plenty of sense.