{"id":873999,"date":"2026-04-25T01:57:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T01:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/873999\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T01:57:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T01:57:23","slug":"new-england-patriots-nfl-draft-2026-pick-tracker-grades-fits-and-scouting-reports-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/873999\/","title":{"rendered":"New England Patriots NFL Draft 2026 pick tracker: Grades, fits and scouting reports"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage<\/a> of the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

The New England Patriots entered the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23 with 11 picks over the three-day draft.<\/p>\n

In the first round, they traded up from 31 to 28 to ensure they got Utah\u2019s Caleb Lomu, the last of the likely first-round offensive tackles. They wanted to secure their plan to bookend their offensive line in front of Drake Maye for years to come, especially after drafting left tackle Will Campbell a year ago.<\/p>\n

In the short term, Lomu might sit on the bench behind veteran right tackle Morgan Moses. But the reason for this pick was to have a long-term plan at the most important spots on the offensive line.<\/p>\n

In the second round, New England traded up again to select Illinois edge rusher Gabe Jacas.<\/p>\n

Keep coming back here throughout the draft for grades and analysis of each Patriots pick.<\/p>\n

Round 1No. 28: Caleb Lomu<\/a>, OT, UtahHow he fits<\/p>\n

Really good value here. I had Lomu as being even with Blake Miller and Max Iheanachor (maybe even a tick higher than Iheanachor), as Lomu should be ready to start at right tackle opposite Will Campbell. This gives the Patriots two very athletic tackles who are plus run blockers.<\/p>\n

Lomu isn\u2019t a flashy player, but he gets the job done. He\u2019s very versatile \u2014 he could play right or left tackle and maybe even guard. The 49ers also might\u2019ve been looking tackle here, so I don\u2019t hate the trade-up. Nice pick. \u2014 Nick Baumgardner<\/p>\n

Dane Brugler\u2019s analysis<\/p>\n

Lomu is an above-average athlete, which shows both in pass protection and the run game. He has consistent snap timing, with the mirror quickness to stay in front of wide speed and the body control to catch his balance and recover. In the run game, he explodes out of his stance to cover ground and fit on targets, both backside and out in space. However, he struggled to play with consistent aggression or leg drive as a run blocker \u2014 NFL power will be eye-opening for him. Scouts are also concerned with the lack of high-level edge rushers he faced in 2025 (his Texas Tech tape was a shaky performance and showed his youth).<\/p>\n

Lomu must get stronger and continue to develop his technique and grit, but NFL teams are understandably intrigued by his movement ability and ready-to-cultivate left tackle skill set. His upside points to him becoming an NFL starter.<\/p>\n

Steve Buckley\u2019s analysis<\/p>\n

Caleb Lomu is good news. Patriots fans could use that right now<\/a><\/p>\n

Grade: A-<\/a>Round 2No. 55: Gabe Jacas<\/a>, Edge, IllinoisHow he fits<\/p>\n

The Patriots traded up to grab Jacas, who was the top pass rusher remaining. Jacas (6-foot-3 1\/2, 260 pounds) developed into one of the Big Ten\u2019s top pass rushers with 11 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss last year. Over his final two seasons, he posted 19 sacks and six forced fumbles. He finished with 43 career starts. \u2014 Scott Dochterman<\/p>\n

Dane Brugler\u2019s analysis<\/p>\n

With his rocked-up, athletic build, Jacas is a quick and violent pass rusher who doesn\u2019t need a long runway. He credits his wrestling background for his handwork and maneuvering skills (also worked closely with pass-rush specialist Joe Kim, whom Illinois hired from the New England Patriots in 2025). As a run defender, he uses his heavy hands to strike blockers but gets tangled versus length and must improve his awareness against seal down blocks.<\/p>\n

Jacas won\u2019t consistently outrace NFL tackles, but his powerful, proficient technique and aggressive play demeanor should translate well to the next level. He projects as a rotational edge defender.<\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/a>Round 3<\/p>\n

No. 95<\/p>\n

Round 4<\/p>\n

No picks<\/p>\n

Round 5<\/p>\n

No. 171<\/p>\n

Round 6<\/p>\n

No. 191<\/p>\n

No. 198<\/p>\n

No. 212<\/p>\n

Round 7<\/p>\n

No. 247<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 NFL Draft. The New England Patriots entered the 2026 NFL…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":874000,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2050],"tags":[7,1167,249,2326,2094,6,208],"class_list":{"0":"post-873999","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-england-patriots","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-new-england","10":"tag-new-england-patriots","11":"tag-newengland","12":"tag-newenglandpatriots","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-patriots"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116462868493013067","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/874000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}