Long snappers getting selected in the NFL Draft is a rarity: over the last decade, only seven players at the position heard their names called. One of those is Julian Ashby, who the New England Patriots brought aboard on the third day of last year’s draft.
For some, that might have been the last time they actually heard somebody talk about Ashby — a definitive positive given the position he plays. That said, let’s break the silence and talk about the soon-to-be 24-year-old.
Hard facts
Name: Julian Ashby
Position:
Long snapper
Jersey number: 47
Opening day age: 24 (7/8/2002)
Measurements: 6’1 1/8”, 231 lbs, 10 1/8” hand size, 32 3/8” arm length, 4.94s 40-yard dash, 30” vertical jump, 9’7” broad jump, 15 bench press reps, 8.53 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2025-) | College: Furman (2020-23), Vanderbilt (2024)
A multi-sport athlete at Parkview High School in Lilburn, GA, Ashby originally started out as a quarterback before moving to long snapper. He went unrated as a college recruit but nonetheless found a home at Furman, where he spent four years and appeared in 44 games. A first-team FCS All-American in 2023, he decided to prolong his college career and transfer to Vanderbilt in 2024.
Ashby added 13 more games to his résumé during his lone year with the Commodores, and ended up hearing his name called in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Now a member of the Patriots, he appeared in all 21 of the team’s combined regular season and playoff games as a rookie.
Scouting report
Strengths: Ashby is a good athlete at the long snapper position. His big hands give him a good grip of the football, while he also has the acceleration and straight-line speed to get up the field on punt coverage. He also has the size to successfully transition from snapper to blocker and to execute tackles; he neither comes in too hot when getting near the ball carrier nor does he abandon his technique when push comes to shove. As for his snaps, they come with the proper spin and are fairly accurate; he had no obvious bad snaps as a rookie in 2025.
Weaknesses: Ashby struggled with penalties in 2025 and did not appear to always be on the same page as the rest of the Patriots’ special teams crew. While he does have fairly large hands, he is not the biggest player overall and can get overpowered at the point of attack. His tackling success in 2025 also might not be reflective of his capabilities in this area considering that he missed at least one tackle in three of his four active seasons and 21% of his takedown attempts overall.
2025 review
Stats: 21 games (0 starts) | 180 special teams snaps (32.8%) | 4 special teams tackles | 3 penalties (incl. 0 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: The Patriots became the first and only team to select a long snapper in the 2025 NFL Draft, and the first one to do so since 2021, when they brought Ashby in with the 251st overall pick in the seventh round. The decision prompted a follow-up move shortly thereafter: three days later, 10-year veteran and team captain Joe Cardona was released — effectively putting an end to any theoretical long snapper competition before it even began.
With Ashby undisputed as the Patriots’ long snapper from that point on, he delivered a quality campaign. Any issues he might have had during training camp — there was the occasional shaky snap and some sort of minor ailment — were quickly forgotten once the regular season began: all 179 of his snaps found punter/holder Bryce Baringer without any significant issues. The same was true for an off-center snap to personal protector Marte Mapu on an ultimately unsuccessful fake punt against the Ravens in Week 16.
If there was a negative from Ashby’s rookie season in the NFL it was his communication with Mapu (a player who has since been traded to Houston). With the pair seemingly unable to get on a consistent page, Ashby was flagged three times for false starts on the year.
Other than those miscues, however, he and the team can both feel good about his first season replacing one of the top long snappers in football. Ashby’s snaps looked good, and he also registered four combined tackles with no misses between the regular season and playoffs.
2026 preview
Position: Long snapper | Ability: Quality special teamer | Contract: Signed through 2028 (2029 RFA)
What will be his role? Ashby long-snapped in college, and he long-snapped after joining the NFL. He will continue to do the same entering his second season as a Patriot taking the field as part of every punt, field goal, and extra point formation.
What is his growth potential? Already a quality player at his position, Ashby’s biggest area of improvement relative to his rookie season will be his snap timing. If he and whoever will replace Marte Mapu as personal protector can get on the same page, the penalty issues of 2025 should become a thing of the past fairly quickly. If so, he should further help solidify his status as one of the top long snappers in the NFL.
Does he have positional versatility? Long snapper is the most specialized of all the positions on an NFL roster, meaning that Ashby’s versatility is right where it needs to be: nonexistent. That being said, as noted above, he did manage to deliver on his lone non-standard snap last year.
What is his salary cap situation? Ashby is entering the second year of his rookie contract carrying a salary cap figure of $1.03 million. The number can be broken down in a non-guaranteed base salary ($1.01M) as well as a fully-guaranteed signing bonus proration ($25k). With the NFL’s Top 51 rule in place, only the guaranteed portion of his pact is currently weighed against New England’s books.
How safe is his roster spot? The Patriots did look at some long snappers earlier in the offseason, signing veteran free agent Niko Lalos and inviting Alabama long snapper Kneeland Hibbett to their rookie minicamp on a tryout basis. However, Lalos has since been released and Hibbett was not signed in the first place. This leaves Ashby as the lone snapper on the roster, basically guaranteeing him a spot on the 53-man roster come September.
Summary: The Patriots hit the jackpot the last time they drafted a long snapper. And while it remains to be seen whether or not Ashby can become a Joe Cardona-like presence and multi-time Super Bowl champion, the early signs certainly have been encouraging.
What do you think about Julian Ashby heading into the 2026 season? Will he remain relatively anonymous? Or will we hear his name more often this year, for better or worse? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
