The New England Patriots double-dipped at offensive tackle during the 2026 NFL Draft, but they opted not to address the interior of their line until rookie free agency. When they did, they signed an intriguing prospect who combines size, athleticism and the ability to play wherever he is need up front.
Whether or not Jacob Rizy can take advantage of that foundation and earn a spot on the team will be seen, but as far as undrafted rookies are concerned he is defintively one to keep an eye on this summer.
Hard facts
Name: Jacob Rizy
Position: Interior offensive line
Jersey number: 64
Opening day age: 24 (3/15/2002)
Measurements: 6’5”, 306 lbs, 9 3/4” hand size, 34 5/8” arm length, 82 1/8” wingspan, 5.20s 40-yard dash, 7.22s 3-cone drill, 4.53s short shuttle, 30 1/2” vertical jump, 9’0” broad jump, 31 bench press reps, 9.91 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2026-) | College: Harvard (2020-23), Florida State (2024-25)
A team captain for both the football and wrestling squads, Rizy was a no-star recruit coming out of Staples High School in Westport, CT. He still received his fair share of scholarship offers and eventually opted to join Harvard.
In three real seasons with the Crimson (the 2020 season was cancelled due to Covid-19), he appeared in 22 games with 20 starts. Along the way, he picked up All-Ivy League recognition twice: he was voted to the second team in 2022 and the first team in 2023. With momentum on his side and two more seasons of eligibility remaining, Rizy entered the transfer portal in November 2023.
A three-star prospect at that point, he drew interest from schools such as Purdue, Tulsa and Tulane. He decided to take his talents to Florida State, though, where he spent two seasons and saw action in 23 games with seven starts.
Rizy went unselected in the 2026 NFL Draft, joining the Patriots as a rookie free agent shortly thereafter.
Scouting report
Strengths: Rizy combines the size and athleticism NFL teams are looking for in their offensive linemen. He is tall, carries his weight seemingly easily, and has outstanding length. He combines those attributes with good core strength and some baseline movement skills for a player his size: he is fairly quick out of his stance and capable of climbing to the second level; he did not look out of place on the move in FSU’s zone-based scheme. In addition, he offers exemplary versatility after having seen significant action at all five offensive line spots in college.
Weaknesses: Rizy generally moves decently well, but there are situations when he can look uncoordinated: when asked to quickly adjust or react on the fly to the defense — like on stunts or blitzes — he can struggle to reposition himself without his technique suffering. He also needs to play with a consistent pad level and make use of leverage, and also has to learn to handle the speed and power he is going to face at the next level; the transition from Harvard to FSU was already a bit of a challenge in that regard, and took him some time to adjust.
2025 review
Stats: 12 games (2 starts) | 402 offensive snaps, 68 special teams snaps | 8 QB pressures surrendered (8 hurries) | 1 penalty (incl. 0 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: When Rizy joined Florida State as a transfer in 2024, the initial plan was for him to gradually get brought up to competing at the ACC level. However, the state of the Seminoles’ offensive line forced him to see considerable action already in his first year: he started five of 11 games that season. Unsurprisingly, the expectation was that he would take the next step as a redshirt senior in 2025.
He didn’t. While there was some natural development that comes with age and spending a second straight season in the same program, Rizy failed to earn a regular starting role yet again. Instead, he served as a super sub who ended up playing at least one offensive snap in 11 of 12 games and also added two more starts to his résumé: he started at right tackle against Pittsburgh, and later at left guard versus N.C. State.
In general, his versatile usage was probably the biggest takeaway from his final year of college football. Rizy, after all, saw varying degrees of action at all five offensive line spots. He was primarily used at right guard (184 snaps) but also was trusted to play extended snaps at left guard (125) and right tackle (72). He also saw a handful of snaps each at center (13) and his former position at Harvard, left tackle (2). He also lined up as a sixth lineman/blocking tight end from time to time (6).
From that perspective, Rizy can feel good about his second year in Tallahassee; he was able to showcase himself as an ultra-versatile lineman. However, the quality and consistency of his reps was not always where it needed to be for a player in his fifth season overall.
2026 preview
Position: Center/Guard | Ability: Camp body/Practice squad candidate | Contract: Signed through 2028 (2029 RFA)
What will be his role? Rizy can line up virtually everywhere on the offensive line, but it looks like the Patriots will be focusing on training him along the interior early on. At one point in the spring, he served as the third-team center behind regular starter Jared Wilson and second-stringer Ben Brown — a potential sign of things to come.
What is his growth potential? Given his combination of size and athletic skill, it is not unrealistic to think that Rizy offers some developmental upside. That said, given his inability to earn a starting role at FSU and the fact that he went undrafted, one has to wonder just how high his ceiling truly is. Give those circumstances, expecting him to suddenly become that in the NFL is probably unrealistic. What might not be is him taking a similar path as the aforementioned Ben Brown, and become a do-it-all backup further down the line.
Does he have positional versatility? Together with Caleb Lomu and Mike Onwenu, Rizy might be the most versatile offensive lineman on the Patriots’ roster right now. And given that he played 68-plus snaps at every position on the line in college, an argument can be made that he is No. 1 on that particular list. Of course, there is a difference between college and NFL versatility, and he has yet to show that he can play even one spot at an adequate level. However, the potential of him as a multi-faceted player is enticing.
What is his salary cap situation? New England added Rizy on a three-year UDFA deal after the draft, and it comes with an $888,333 cap hit in 2026. That number can be broken up into two parts: a partially-guaranteed $885,000 base salary and a fully-guaranteed $3,333 signing bonus proration. The partial salary guarantees are $75,000 and can be seen as a potential pre-payment for a practice squad spot.
How safe is his roster spot? Even though there is a lot to like about Rizy as a developmental prospect, the fact is that he is closer to the bottom of the roster than the top. To at least make it past the 53-man cut-off line, he needs to earn what might be just one available spot along the interior offensive line. To do so, he will have to prove himself against the likes of Andrew Rupcich, Caedan Wallace, Mehki Butler and JonDarius Morgan — not an impossible task, but still a sizable one for an undrafted rookie.
Summary: Given his mix of size, athletic profile and versatile experience, Rizy looks like a dark horse candidate to make the Patriots’ roster this season. But even if he fails to do so for whichever reason, he should be in a position to earn one of the 16 practice squad spots.
What do you think about Jacob Rizy heading into the 2026 season? What will be his primary position? Will it even matter? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
