Joining Patriots would be ‘an incredible opportunity’ for Boston College draft hopeful Drew Kendall

Kendall projects as a Day 3 selection in this year’s NFL Draft.

After releasing longtime team captain David Andrews earlier this offseason, the New England Patriots are in the market for some help at center. They do not have to look far to find a suitable target in this year’s NFL Draft.

Drew Kendall, a 37-game starter at Boston College, projects as a mid-round selection and somebody the Patriots very well could go after come Saturday. For the Norwell native, that would be a dream-come-true scenario.

“It would be such an incredible opportunity to stay home and get to play for the hometown team,” he recently told NESN.com. “That would be awesome.”

Kendall, whose father Pete also played at Boston College and spent 13 seasons in the NFL, played along the offensive and defensive lines — as well as on the lacrosse team — during his time in high school. A four-star recruit and the No. 1 recruit in Massachusetts in 2021, he received offers from some of the most prestigious schools in the nation.

However, he opted to follow in his father’s footsteps and join the Eagles. Even wearing his dad’s number 66 jersey, he took over as starting center during his sophomore season and never looked back.

37 starts and one firs-team All-ACC designation later, Kendall is now headed toward the draft and on a potential collision course with his hometown team. The Patriots, after all, have shown keen interest in the 6-foot-4, 308 pound blocker. Besides meeting him at his pro day, they also invited him to Foxborough for their own pro day with local prospects.

“They’ve been great. All of them have been talking about football and getting to know me as a person, which I really appreciate,” Kendall said about his interactions with the Patriots.

“They want to make sure that they’re bringing in the right people over there, and that really stood out to me. A lot of those interviews you spend most of the time just talking about yourself and talking about what’s important to you and I really appreciated that. But also getting the opportunity to speak a little bit about football. It’s been great.”

Kendall’s connection to the Patriots go beyond his pre-draft meetings. New England’s offensive line coach, Doug Marrone, served as a senior analyst at Boston College last season and spent considerable time with the offensive line.

In addition, BC head coach Bill O’Brien is a former two-time offensive coordinator in New England. The connections between his team and the one run by Mike Vrabel down Highway 1 run deep.

There is a chance they will run even deeper once the draft is over.

Offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo, another Massachusetts native who later attended Boston College, is another candidate to join the Patriots. The same is true for Kendall, even though he understands that there are no guarantees in the NFL Draft.

“It would be special, definitely, but it’s so out of my control,” he said. “I’m just trying to make sure that I’m ready to go wherever any teams calls me. But definitely it would be really special.”