April 24, 2026, 9:20 p.m. ET
For the second night in a row, the New England Patriots have traded up. Throughout the second round, there was a heavy run on edge players, so Eliot Wolf and Mike Vrabel didn’t want to take any chance on missing out on one.
In exchange for the 55th overall pick, the New England Patriots send the Los Angeles Chargers the 63rd, 131st, and 202nd overall picks. And with that, they selected Illinois edge Gabe Jacas.
Having four fourth-round picks has given the Patriots the flexibility to make this move, so now they receive a 6-foot-4, 261-pound boost on defense. Edge was one of the team’s biggest needs, and they addressed that, with Jacas finishing his college career with seven forced fumbles and 27 sacks, specifically recording 11 sacks last season alone.
He has a wrestling background, bringing aggressiveness and physicality, with NFL.com listing his comparison as former New England linebacker Matthew Judon. During the pre-draft process Jacas visited Gillette Stadium.
He joins Harold Landry, Dre’Mont Jones, Elijah Ponder, Bradyn Swinson, and Jesse Luketa on the depth chart.
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