Leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft, we ranked the New England Patriots’ roster needs from most to least pressing. Atop the list, classified as major needs, were three positions: defensive edge, offensive tackle and tight end.
The Patriots addressed one of those in the first round, trading up to the 28th spot to select Utah offensive tackle Caleb Lomu. Then, on Day 2, they took care of the others.
The edge was the first to be addressed, with Illinois’ Gabe Jacas joining after another trade up to the 55th
spot in the second round. In the late third, at pick No. 95, the Patriots finally added their tight end by picking Eli Raridon out of Note Dame.
We have already taken a deep dive into both of those selections, so now, let’s clean out the notebook before officially turning the page to Day 3.
Patriots keep following the blueprint
The Patriots’ three draft picks so far all have something in common, and it connects them with last year’s early-round draft choices as well: all of them are still relatively young, but they all bring considerable experience to the table.
Caleb Lomu is 21, but he started 24 combined games over the last two seasons at Utah; Gabe Jacas is also 21 but enters the NFL with 50 games and 43 starts under his belt; Eli Raridon turned 22 in February, and despite only being a one-year starter still has played 40 games with 18 starts.
The blueprint since Mike Vrabel and his entourage arrived in Foxborough has been clear. The Patriots are looking for proven youth — for players who are still on the younger side but are checking boxes from a standpoint of maturity, experience and toughness.
“The play style is what we’re all about. Toughness, determination, grit,” Eliot Wolf said on Friday when specifically talking about the Jacas selection.
“He plays a ton of snaps. He plays really hard. He’s super physical. He runs to the ball. Not afraid to take on blockers. … He’s all about football. He wants to be good. He’s powerful. The coaches were ecstatic when we were able to acquire him.”
This goes both ways, too, like Jacas himself explained.
“I’m a fan of their brand of football,” he said during his introductory conference call. “Tough, smart, dependable, the physicality that you’ve got to bring to the team. I think I have all those traits and those characteristics to make an impact.”
Another box that needs to be checked in the Patriots’ evaluations is versatility. This is where Raridon shines.
“I feel like a good way to describe me is I’m versatile,” he said. “I can do both things in the passing and blocking game. I can make explosive plays with the ball in my hands and also dominate defenders in the run game as well. So, I’m someone who I feel brings versatility to the table, so I’m going to do both things.”
Instant connection
The Patriots brought Jacas in for a visit leading up to the draft, and as far as scouting is concerned it was love at first sight.
“Just fell in love with the coaching staff, especially coach Mike Smith, outside linebacker coach there,” explained Jacas. “His philosophy and his mindset on the position, I just loved it, and I knew this team, if they were to get me, was going to be the right fit for me. So, I’m just blessed that they gave me a chance, and they came and got me when they did. …
“Just ready to get there, learn the scheme, learn the playbook, learn from the veterans and just continue to perfect and work on my craft. There’s a lot of stuff that I can still improve on. I’m so glad that I have coach Mike Smith, someone that I just speak highly of because of the way he presented himself, which is – that’s like my type of guy, my type of coach.”
Mike Smith has been the Patriots’ outside linebackers coach since he arrived alongside Mike Vrabel last offseason. Eliot Wolf described him as “high energy” and that is what connected player and coach during that particular visit at Gillette Stadium.
Jacas left a positive impression on more than just one member of the organization, however.
“He was one of the guys that came in and everyone was just kind of gushing about him,” Wolf said. “His energy, his personality. He’s all about football. He’s a tough guy. Frank Piraino, our strength coach, was fired up about him because he’s a weight room guy and a wrestler which, obviously, Frank has that background as well. He made quite an impression when he was here.”
Aggression continued
The Patriots trading up in the draft is not necessarily common practice, especially in the early rounds. However, after originally holding eight selections on Day 3, they made use of them on both the first and second day.
After trading up for Caleb Lomu on Thursday night, they did the same to bring Gabe Jacas in on Friday. Their trade partner in this particular case were the Chargers, and the two organizations reached an agreement on what looks like a fair deal considering the circumstances.
“We were calling a bunch of teams before we ended up making the trade, and fortunately the Chargers wanted to acquire some more picks, so we were able to get up and get the player that we coveted,” said Wolf.
The Patriots’ de facto general manager might not be done either. With the Patriots in possession of five picks between the fourth and seventh rounds, but none until the 171st overall selection in the late fifth, more movement might be on the menu. And, who knows, maybe picks will not be the only currency used to fill gaps.
“As I say a lot, open to doing what we think is best for the team,” said Wolf.
Multi-sport athletes
The Patriots selected two players on Friday who have versatile athletic backgrounds. Eli Raridon, as previously discussed, played basketball in high school and his second sport played a pivotal role in his development as a football player and NFL prospect.
Gabe Jacas, meanwhile, was a wrestler for four years in high school. He too sees being a multi-sport athlete as beneficial for his development.
“Wrestling helped a lot,” he explained.
“The ability to being low, having leverage, using your hands, fighting — those all keyed into football. Wrestling has a lot of trade over into football, especially with hand fighting. Especially at this position on the edge, you got to use your hands effectively, and that’s one thing that I carried over the most with is being able to use my hands efficiently and effectively. Everyone knows me as a football player, but wrestling had a big part in that as well.”
The Patriots are not specifically targeting athletes with a diverse background, but as Eliot Wolf mentioned it’s definitely not a negative either.
“I think it’s an added bonus,” he said. “If we like the film it’s like, ‘Oh, this guy’s a wrestler.’ So, it’s kind of a point, like when you say a guy’s a wrestler, you kind of know what that’s talking about with the lower body strength, the leverage and obviously, those things translate to playing offensive or defensive line.”
Patriot ties
Coming from Illinois, Jacas is no stranger to the so-called Patriot Way. His head coach, Bret Bielema, spent two seasons under Bill Belichick in New England, winning a Super Bowl ring along the way.
“Coach B coached there with Bill Belichick, so the formality right there is already enough because Coach B played a lot of the Patriots film in the meeting rooms and kind of try to relate how they practice, how they play, to our team,” Jacas explained. “So, whenever they called me, it felt like just right. And I just like their brand of football. Kevin Richardson is up there too, as well. I feel like I know a lot about the Patriots.”
Besides Bielema and Richardson, who joined the Patriots as a defensive assistant last offseason, Jacas also has a connection to former Patriots director of skill development Joe Kim. Kim also spent multiple seasons in New England before making the move to Illinois in 2025.
Eli Raridon’s ties to the Patriots are not that obvious. However, his father, Scott, played offensive lineman and long snapper at Notre Dame under former New England offensive coordinator Charlie Weis.
Pre-pick debates
The Patriots feel good about their haul on Day 2 of the draft, but that does not mean the process to get there was entirely smooth either. In fact, as Eliot Wolf revealed, there was some debate leading up to the team’s third-round selection.
“There was probably most debate around the Eli pick, and then all those guys ended up going,” he said. “Eli was the highest player available on our board for a while there, but there were some guys that were kind of on the same level. But obviously, needing a tight end, having a guy that’s 6-foot-6, 245, that is kind of just scratching the surface, ultimately won out.”
