5 things to know about Patriots third-round pick Marte Mapu, a linebacker from Sacramento State
Mapu's draft stock rose after standout performances in a pair of all-star games.
The Patriots continued their run on defensive players in the 2023 NFL Draft, selecting Sacramento State linebacker Marte Mapu with the No. 76 pick.
Here are five things to know about Mapu.
He’s a versatile player.
Mapu played just about everywhere in high school. The Hawthorne, Calif., native saw time at quarterback and wide receiver on offense, and played cornerback and safety on defense.
Mapu was actually quite the quarterback. He completed 62.2 percent of his passes and scored 14 touchdowns to earn first-team all-conference honors in his senior season at his high school near Los Angeles. On defense, he recorded 43 tackles and three interceptions.
Despite Mapu’s versatility and production, he wasn’t ranked by any recruiting services before joining Sacramento State as a safety in 2017.
While at Sacramento State, Mapu eventually added linebacker to his list of positions. He redshirted his first season before becoming a role player in 2018 and 2019, recording 24 tackles and an interception in 16 games.
After Sacramento State’s 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mapu became a vital player for the Hornets. He had 65 tackles (5.5 for loss) and four interceptions in 2021 as he played both linebacker and safety.
Mapu became more active as a tackler in his final season. He recorded 76 tackles (6.5 for loss) with a sack, a forced fumble, and two interceptions in 2022, earning him first-team All-American and Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Oh, and Mapu is also a special teamer. He recorded a blocked kick in 2022, proving he’s played everywhere with some success at different levels of football.
Mapu feels like he can do it all because of his fundamentals.
“I feel like I can run, cover, hit, and make plays,” Mapu said. “I have good instincts. So I feel like that’s just how it is for me,” Mapu said in a conference call after the Patriots selected him.
But where Mapu will play in the NFL is a mystery, even to him.
“The position I’m going to play, you’re going to see in the fall,” Mapu said. “I don’t really know how that’s going to fall into place. That’s going to be determined, but wherever I am, I’m going to work to be the best at it.”
He tore a pectoral muscle early in the draft process.
After raising his draft stock in the 2023 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and the Senior Bowl, Mapu was hoping to improve his draft position in the lead up to April.
But in February, his workouts came to a halt when he injured himself while bench pressing. It turned out he suffered a torn pectoral muscle with the muscle ripping off the bone, requiring surgery.
Following surgery, Mapu’s right arm was in a sling.
“The injury? I can’t control that,” Mapu told The Sacramento Bee’s Chris Biderman in March. “It was tough when it first happened. I was irritated when it happened just because I expected to come out here and do well just based on how my training was going. Besides that, I’ve just been doing what I can — staying mentally sharp.”
Prior to visiting 15 teams on top-30 visits that began in March, Mapu relayed to interested teams that he would be ready to go by training camp in late July.
He reaffirmed that is still the case on Friday.
“I will be working with the team,” Mapu said when asked if he would if he knew what his recovery timeline is. “Right now, it’s feeling good. I’ll be ready by training camp at the latest. But right now, I’m feeling good. We’ll see what that process looks like with the team, but I know I’ll be healthy and when I’m healthy, I’m ready to go.”
He’s a self-described football junkie.
Mapu told the Sacramento Bee that he doesn’t have many interests outside of football.
“I’m pretty much all football,” Mapu said. “If you ask my coaches, I don’t lie about that.”
Growing up a Steelers fan outside of Los Angeles, Mapu watched as much football as possible — his father purchased NFL Sunday Ticket when he was a kid.
Mapu told the Bee he mostly studies safeties, and went through the NFL Network’s annual Top 100 players list to pick which players to learn from.
“I watch everybody that’s good,” Mapu said. “I’ve told all the scouts this. I could list at least 20 players that I’ve watched. I don’t watch just one person routinely. If you’re good at football, I’ll watch you.”
He’s a top draft analyst’s favorite player in the 2023 class.
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah couldn’t contain his excitement on the draft broadcast when it was announced the Patriots had selected Mapu.
“This is my favorite player in the entire draft,” Jeremiah said.
NFL Network host Rich Eisen was surprised by the admission, and Jeremiah was surprised with what he saw out of Mapu when he began studying him.
“I didn’t know anything about him,” Jeremiah said. “When you flip the tape on, I’m watching this Sac State linebacker and he’s so fluid and instinctive and just makes plays. He’s what the modern linebacker in the NFL looks like right now.”
Jeremiah continued to gush about Mapu’s game when listing his strengths.
“He can run, cover, and blitz — everything you want in an NFL linebacker right now,” Jeremiah said. “He has that versatility to match up in man coverage. He’s instinctive in zone coverage. If you can’t cover as a linebacker in this league right now, you can’t play.”
In his final prospect ranking list, Jeremiah placed Mapu as the 73rd-best prospect in this year’s class. He thought he was going out on a limb at the time. It turned out he wasn’t.
“I thought I was putting myself out there with where I put him and he ended up going in that same exact range,” Jeremiah said.
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