The Michigan Wolverines fans might be caught up in some mixed feelings. They now have the No.1 recruit Bryce Underwood on board. However, they will have to part ways with their other favorite, defensive lineman Mason Graham. The pain is a lot to bear because he has spent three long seasons at Sherrone Moore’s program. Graham, however, is all ready to spread his wings and take the flight of his dreams in the NFL. With the NFL Scouting Combine underway, he has met with Mike Vrabel’s New England Patriots. Post-meeting, Graham had opened up about how it went. Meanwhile, he also made the most of his last chance to show their archrival, Ohio State, who he is.   

The 6-foot-3, 320-pounder totaled 46 tackles (24 solo) and 3.5 sacks in 2024 while amassing 108 tackles (61 solo) and nine sacks over his three years at Michigan. Plus, he has earned Freshman All-American, and 2x First-Team All-Big Ten. Besides his stats, his stature has wooed NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah. “I’m looking at Mason Graham and the body type and I’m like, ‘Man, maybe I need to adjust my grade.’ Maybe I’m just too high on this guy. And then I proceeded to watch the game, and I was like, ‘Nope. Nope. He’s just really, really good.’” With this, Graham is projected as a top-10 pick. And he is already on the Patriots’ radar.

He did face the press after the meet-up. The defensive lineman gets hit by the question of how the meeting went. And also what makes him the perfect fit in New England’s culture. Graham replied, “They were just asking me about me, what makes me me. It was just a fluent conversation.” He did admit that going into the meeting he had some notion about their HC Vrabel and how he was a really intense guy. But as soon as Graham started talking to Vrabel, the mind presets vanished away. About Vrabel, he said, “I thought he was a cool guy. We were just talking, having good conversations.” Now where does Graham fit in the Patriots picture?  

Well, Vrabel and Co. have a glaring need all across the defensive line. In case Penn State’s LB Abdul Carter and Colorado Buffaloes’ Travis Hunter go away as top three picks, the Patriots would face a troublesome question. That is whether the LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell is worthy of their No.4 overall pick or not. That’s when Graham might enter the scene. Not to forget about his feat in a 13-10 win over Ohio State on November 30. Graham totaled seven tackles- the best of his work so far, according to Wink Martindale. Looks like, Graham is still not over the victory fever. 

How did Mason Graham use Ohio State for his self-promotion spree? 

It was on December 10, last year, that the defensive lineman declared for the 2025 NFL draft, foregoing the ReliaQuest Bowl and his senior year. But Graham still continues to take a dig at Ohio State. Why wouldn’t he? After all, in the 13-10 Wolverines victory, Graham deserved a large deal of the credit. He and Moore’s defensive line dominated up front, limiting big plays and playing with a lighter box. However, here comes a catch.

The strategy would have only worked if Graham and the defensive line held their own. Surprisingly, they offered much more than that. Day’s boys rushed for only 77 yards on 26 carries but also had just 1 catch of 20-plus yards. However, the Wolverines’ victory came with their kicker Dominic Zvada’s 21-yard field goal with only 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter. And what about Graham?

The defensive lineman came up with seven tackles (five solo). That was some serious glow-up. In their last 30-24 win over Ohio State in 2023, Mason Graham had only two tackles along with one sack. Now isn’t it a strong point to drop some self-promo breadcrumbs? At the NFL Combine, he was asked to talk about any one or two plays to know what kind of player he was. Graham had his answers ready: “I mean, I feel like just rolling that Ohio State film. That’s all you need to see, really.” As he blew his own trumpet, he said he would be “grateful for the opportunity” wherever he ended up in the draft.