One of the first signings the New England Patriots made during this year’s free agency period was adding veteran fullback Reggie Gilliam on a three-year deal. Gilliam’s addition had a trickle-down effect on the roster, in that it seemingly pushed last year’s FB of choice, Jack Westover, down a spot.
Westover, however, has not been a traditional fullback to begin with. Instead, he is a player who can fill multiple roles on offense and special teams.
Hard facts
Name: Jack Westover
Position: Tight end/Fullback
Jersey
number: 37
Opening day age: 27 (6/9/1999)
Measurements: 6’2 5/8”, 252 lbs, 9 1/8” hand size, 32 1/8” arm length, 7.08s 3-cone drill, 4.38s short shuttle, N/A Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: Seattle Seahawks (2024), New England Patriots (2024-) | College: Washington (2018-23)
Westover’s high school football career was virtually non-existent. Primarily focusing on basketball at Mount Si in Snoqualmie, WA, he only picked up the sport again — he previously played in seventh grade — ahead of his senior season. However, a broken collarbone limited him to just two games and contributed to no scholarship offers coming his way.
Westover went on to join the University of Washington as a walk-on, and to manage a nice college career. In six seasons with the Huskies, he appeared in 52 games with 16 starts and registered 94 offensive touches for 875 yards and seven touchdowns. He also was named All-Pac 12 honorable mention in 2023.
Nonetheless, Westover was once again overlooked heading into his next transition. He ended up going unselected in the 2024 NFL Draft, and joined the Seahawks as a rookie free agent. He lasted less than four months before being released, and another month later made his way to the New England practice squad followed by a promotion to the 53-man roster. Since then, Westover has appeared in 24 combined regular season and playoff games and also added fullback duties to his repertoire.
Scouting report
Strengths: Westover is a good mover at the tight end position, who operates well in space and can find openings in zone coverage or add yards after catching the ball. He is a natural hands catcher who also is flexible enough to move around the formation: he can line up as an in-line or move tight end, play the fullback position or move to H-back and perform decently at all those spots; he also has plenty of special teams experience. Part of it is his football intelligence and ability to recognize defensives structures and make quick decisions.
Weaknesses: Westover is a tweener who lacks any defining athletic traits and has deficits at all of his potential positions. He is undersized by traditional tight end standards, and lacks the length and quickness to be anything but a specialized player at that spot. Meanwhile, his power and feel for leverage are lacking relative to blocking tight ends or fullbacks. He is a player who relies on his feel for the game and effort rather than any special skill that would give him an advantage over his opposition.
2025 review
Stats: 21 games (4 starts) | 317 offensive snaps (23.3%), 238 special teams snaps (43.4%) | 3 targets, 2 catches (66.7%), 8 yards (4.0/catch), 1 drop | 1 penalty (incl. 0 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: Coming off a relatively quiet rookie season that saw him appear in just two games with 35 combined snaps between offense and special teams, Westover headed into his sophomore campaign as a projected roster bubble player at tight end. However, his outlook improved early in training camp when he started working at fullback — a role he had already sporadically played in college — after rookie Brock Lampe was lost for the season with a foot injury.
Westover effectively ran uncontested, and ended up making the 53-man roster as the Patriots’ fullback and a third-string option behind Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper at tight end. As such, he played all 21 of his team’s combined games between the regular season and playoffs and soared to unfamiliar heights as far as playing time was concerned.
On offense, he played just under a fourth of snaps and was mostly employed in the run game. Besides serving as a lead blocker from the backfield, he also was used as an in-line tight end and even sent into the slot or split out wide on occasion. He wasn’t a world beater, but he had some encouraging moments for a player that had only started getting extended fullback reps in late July. He also caught two of the three passes thrown his way, registering his first 8 career receiving yards in the process.
In the kicking game, meanwhile, Westover was a regular on three units — kickoff coverage, kickoff return, punt return — and finished the year ranked seventh on the team in total snaps. He again did not stand out, but instead was a steady presence that kept getting chances.
2026 preview
Position: F-tight end/Fullback/H-back | Ability: Depth player/Role player | Contract: Signed through 2027 (2029 ERFA)
What will be his role? Westover was the Patriots’ featured fullback in 2025, but he moved back to tight end this offseason following the addition of Reggie Gilliam. He will remain a jack of several trades, though: he projects as a backup and move tight end behind starter Hunter Henry, can fill in for Gilliam if need be, and also play on multiple units in the kicking game.
What is his growth potential? Even though he is only entering his third season in the league, Westover is already 27 years old and relatively well-defined as a player. While moving back to tight end on a more regular basis might help put him in more favorable positions, any significant jumps in performance and output should still not be expected at this stage in his development.
Does he have positional versatility? Westover’s ability to play multiple roles both on offense and special teams is one of his defining features. As noted above, he can move between tight end and backfield blocker and additionally line up on most kicking game units. Depending on his offensive role, a similar usage might be in the cards for him in 2026 as well even though the aforementioned Reggie Gilliam will be the new top fullback.
What is his salary cap situation? An exclusive rights free agent, Westover received a one-year tender offer by the team in March to prevent him from entering the open market. He signed the tender in April and as a consequence is now on a one-year, $1.075 million deal. The pact consists entirely of a non-guaranteed base salary which simultaneously also functions as his cap hit.
How safe is his roster spot? Even though he appeared in all 21 games last season and saw relatively steady playing on both offense and special teams, Westover is not guaranteed to be back on the team this season. As previously mentioned, Reggie Gilliam is now the Patriots’ new fullback of choice, while the tight end position also already has two of what is unlikely to be more than three spots filled. In order to earn that third spot, he will need to outperform both C.J. Dippre and Tanner Arkin as well as any potential additions to the room. And that’s not all: he also will need to show that he would be more valuable to the operation than an extra layer of depth elsewhere.
Summary: Westover is a solid depth piece and role player to have on the 53-man team. That said, his lack of upside and the overall composition of the tight end group at the moment — finding a true blocker, which he is not despite his fullback experience, is the most pressing task — might make it hard for him to actually find a spot this time around. The practice squad does appear to be a realistic option, though, should he miss out on the active roster.
What do you think about Jack Westover heading into the 2026 season? Will he make an impact as a tight end? Or will the Patriots try to update the depth behind Hunter Henry? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
