With the NFL Draft coming closer, the rumor mill is working overtime.

The 2025 NFL Draft is just days away which brings a last minute flurry of news and potential moves, especially for the New England Patriots at pick No. 4.

While information at this point in the draft could be a smokescreen or misinformation — as Bill Belichick explained last year that leaks do not come from teams until roughly 12 hours before the start of round one — there is plenty to note without already writing in any selections in sharpie.

“I think it’s wide open,” ESPN’s Peter Schrager said Tuesday about New England’s choice. “Anyone who thinks they know what the Patriots are doing at four, saying it’s a slam dunk — they’re full of it, because Eliot Wolf ain’t talking and I don’t think [Mike] Vrabel is either.”

In addition to our Patriots Draft Rumors Tracker, here’s what we’ve heard and seen roughly 48 hours aways from the start of Round 1.

Will Campbell

The Patriots are going to add an offensive tackle in the draft. They are also going to do so earlier than later — potentially as early as No. 4 overall. If that’s the path, the consensus top two tackles available are LSU’s Will Campbell and Missouri’s Armand Membou.

Despite the flaws in Campbell’s structure due to his 21 percentile arm length and 7 percentile wingspan, the Patriots have liked him as a prospect throughout the pre-draft process. They brought him in for a 30 visit, and have remained in contact with him.

Where things stand now, Campbell should be considered the favorite to be New England’s choice in the first round.

“With the Patriots I just have continually heard that offensive tackle was going to be addressed and I’ve continually heard that that’s Will Campbell’s spot,” NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah added last week. “The feeling in talking to folks is that Will Campbell is really well liked inside that building in New England.”

Addressing the edge

If the Patriots opt to go elsewhere besides offensive tackle at fourth overall, addressing the edge could be next in line (assuming WR/CB Travis Hunter is off the board). While Penn State’s Abdul Carter would likely be the choice if he is on the board, the “dynamic” pass rusher still appears to be headed to the New York Giants at No. 3.

That would lead to the Patriots then potentially turning to Georgia’s Jalon Walker. A versatile front seven defender who plays off the ball and on the edge, Walker is only 6-foot-1 and 243 pounds.

But, he has been praised for his off-the-field intangibles that lead to many believing he’ll be a captain in the future.

The Patriots got a close look at Walker at Georgia’s Pro Day. They spent plenty of time with both him and his teammate along the defensive line, Mykel Williams, and came away impressed. Enough to pick Walker at No. 4? That still seems like a long-shot at the moment, but he at least appears to be in the conversation at some point in Round 1.

Williams, meanwhile, could be a candidate if he starts sliding and potentially remains available on Day 2.

Running back?

A real curveball atop the draft would be the Patriots selecting running back Ashton Jeanty. Picking Jeanty at No. 4 would result in him being the eighth highest-paid running back in the league in terms of average annual value, which sparks the debate in the value of running backs in today’s NFL.

“I think that that’s individualized based on how good the player is, how talented and what impact that he’s going to make, his ability to play on all three downs, his ability to catch the football, his ability to create mismatches and obviously, then what the team covets. I think that’s the most important,” head coach Mike Vrabel said last week about drafting the position inside the top 10.

While the player Vrabel described is a match to the Heisman Trophy runner-up, who is largely looked at as the third-best prospect in this class, it seems more likely that the Patriots will address the position later on. Jeanty himself told Pro Football Talk that he believes the earliest he will come off the board is at pick No. 6.

Trade talk

Speaking last week, Mike Vrabel noted how the phone lines were expectedly quiet at that point of the draft process. As the first round gets closer, the lines have more action now across the league.

New England will entertain offers about moving down the board, but they were not listed by ESPN’s Adam Schefter as a team actively looking to move back at this time. They also do not appear to be getting as many calls as the Browns and Giants as teams attempt to see whether moving up for Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter, and potentially Jeanty is feasible.

Depending how the draft board unfolds, the Patriots could attempt to move up from their second selection, though — something they attempted and failed to do last year. The Minnesota Vikings, who enter the draft with just four selections, are a logical spot at No. 24 and one pick ahead of the O-line-needy Houston Texans.

The Patriots also enter the week with an already crowded wide receiver room, which could then see an extra body added in the draft. That, in turn, could lead to third-year receiver Kayshon Boutte being “deemed expendable,” as Schefter put it, as a low-level trade or package candidate on draft weekend.

Another player to potentially keep an eye on as trade conversations intensify, depending on how the chips fall: former first-round pick Cole Strange.