Bruins are flying off the board.
The New England Patriots selected UCLA football offensive guard Atonio Mafi with the No. 144 overall pick in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft on Saturday. Mafi heard his name called just four picks after quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson went to the Cleveland Browns, while offensive guard Jon Gaines II went to the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round earlier on Saturday.
Mafi will head to Foxborough, Massachusetts, to protect quarterback Mac Jones, who was a first round pick in 2021. Jones’ protection was suspect last season, which is part of why the Patriots are in the midst of loading up on linemen.
After New England took Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez in round one, they took Georgia Tech defensive end Keion White in the second, Sacramento State linebacker Marte Mapu in the third, then Troy center Jake Andrews, Maryland kicker Chad Ryland, and Eastern Michigan offensive guard Sidy Sow in the fourth.
The 6-foot-3, 329-pound Mafi is latest prospect to join the Patriots, and he will jump into an interior line group that already included starters Michael Onwenu and 2022 first rounder Cole Strange.
Mafi did not earn an invite to the NFL Scouting Combine, and an injury prevented him from working out at UCLA's pro day. And with relatively limited tape on him as an offensive lineman, Mafi's stock heading into the weekend was uncertain.
After starting on the Bruins' defensive line in 2018 and 2019, Mafi moved to the offensive line in 2020. Mafi was a reserve that season, then a part-time starter in 2021, and he only emerged as an every-down player after losing 70 pounds in 2022.
Mafi made the All-Pac-12 Second Team as a left guard, helping to protect Thompson-Robinson and pave the way for All-American running back Zach Charbonnet on the ground. The Tongan prospect from Shoreview, California, wound up playing in all 56 of UCLA's games over the past five seasons.
Wide receiver Jake Bobo, wide reveiver Kazmeir Allen and safety Stephan Blaylock are among the other Bruins who are still on the board with nearly 100 picks to go.
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