{"id":874326,"date":"2026-04-25T14:09:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T14:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/874326\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T14:09:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T14:09:17","slug":"6-thoughts-on-the-patriots-drafting-gabe-jacas-and-eli-raridon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/874326\/","title":{"rendered":"6 thoughts on the Patriots drafting Gabe Jacas and Eli Raridon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft, we ranked the New England Patriots\u2019 roster needs<\/a> from most to least pressing. Atop the list, classified as major needs, were three positions: defensive edge, offensive tackle and tight end.<\/p>\n

The Patriots addressed one of those in the first round, trading up to the 28th spot to select Utah offensive tackle Caleb Lomu. Then, on Day 2, they took care of the others.<\/p>\n

The edge was the first to be addressed, with Illinois\u2019 Gabe Jacas joining after another trade up to the 55th spot in the second round. In the late third, at pick No. 95, the Patriots finally added their tight end by picking Eli Raridon out of Note Dame.<\/p>\n

We have already taken a deep dive into both of those selections<\/a>, so now, let\u2019s clean out the notebook before officially turning the page to Day 3.<\/p>\n

Patriots keep following the blueprint<\/p>\n

The Patriots\u2019 three draft picks so far all have something in common, and it connects them with last year\u2019s early-round draft choices as well: all of them are still relatively young, but they all bring considerable experience to the table.<\/p>\n

Caleb Lomu is 21, but he started 24 combined games over the last two seasons at Utah; Gabe Jacas is also 21 but enters the NFL with 50 games and 43 starts under his belt; Eli Raridon turned 22 in February, and despite only being a one-year starter still has played 40 games with 18 starts.<\/p>\n

The blueprint since Mike Vrabel and his entourage arrived in Foxborough has been clear. The Patriots are looking for proven youth \u2014 for players who are still on the younger side but are checking boxes from a standpoint of maturity, experience and toughness.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe play style is what we\u2019re all about. Toughness, determination, grit,\u201d Eliot Wolf said on Friday when specifically talking about the Jacas selection.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe plays a ton of snaps. He plays really hard. He\u2019s super physical. He runs to the ball. Not afraid to take on blockers. \u2026 He\u2019s all about football. He wants to be good. He\u2019s powerful. The coaches were ecstatic when we were able to acquire him.\u201d<\/p>\n

This goes both ways, too, like Jacas himself explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a fan of their brand of football,\u201d he said during his introductory conference call. \u201cTough, smart, dependable, the physicality that you\u2019ve got to bring to the team. I think I have all those traits and those characteristics to make an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another box that needs to be checked in the Patriots\u2019 evaluations is versatility. This is where Raridon shines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like a good way to describe me is I\u2019m versatile,\u201d he said. \u201cI can do both things in the passing and blocking game. I can make explosive plays with the ball in my hands and also dominate defenders in the run game as well. So, I\u2019m someone who I feel brings versatility to the table, so I\u2019m going to do both things.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Patriots brought Jacas in for a visit leading up to the draft, and as far as scouting is concerned it was love at first sight.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust fell in love with the coaching staff, especially coach Mike Smith, outside linebacker coach there,\u201d explained Jacas. \u201cHis philosophy and his mindset on the position, I just loved it, and I knew this team, if they were to get me, was going to be the right fit for me. So, I\u2019m just blessed that they gave me a chance, and they came and got me when they did. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cJust ready to get there, learn the scheme, learn the playbook, learn from the veterans and just continue to perfect and work on my craft. There\u2019s a lot of stuff that I can still improve on. I\u2019m so glad that I have coach Mike Smith, someone that I just speak highly of because of the way he presented himself, which is \u2013 that\u2019s like my type of guy, my type of coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike Smith has been the Patriots\u2019 outside linebackers coach since he arrived alongside Mike Vrabel last offseason. Eliot Wolf described him as \u201chigh energy\u201d and that is what connected player and coach during that particular visit at Gillette Stadium.<\/p>\n

Jacas left a positive impression on more than just one member of the organization, however.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was one of the guys that came in and everyone was just kind of gushing about him,\u201d Wolf said. \u201cHis energy, his personality. He\u2019s all about football. He\u2019s a tough guy. Frank Piraino, our strength coach, was fired up about him because he\u2019s a weight room guy and a wrestler which, obviously, Frank has that background as well. He made quite an impression when he was here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Patriots trading up in the draft is not necessarily common practice, especially in the early rounds. However, after originally holding eight selections on Day 3, they made use of them on both the first and second day.<\/p>\n

After trading up for Caleb Lomu on Thursday night, they did the same to bring Gabe Jacas in on Friday. Their trade partner in this particular case were the Chargers, and the two organizations reached an agreement on what looks like a fair deal considering the circumstances.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were calling a bunch of teams before we ended up making the trade, and fortunately the Chargers wanted to acquire some more picks, so we were able to get up and get the player that we coveted,\u201d said Wolf.<\/p>\n

The Patriots\u2019 de facto general manager might not be done either. With the Patriots in possession of five picks between the fourth and seventh rounds, but none until the 171st overall selection in the late fifth, more movement might be on the menu. And, who knows, maybe picks will not be the only currency used to fill gaps.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I say a lot, open to doing what we think is best for the team,\u201d said Wolf.<\/p>\n

The Patriots selected two players on Friday who have versatile athletic backgrounds. Eli Raridon, as previously discussed, played basketball in high school<\/a> and his second sport played a pivotal role in his development as a football player and NFL prospect.<\/p>\n

Gabe Jacas, meanwhile, was a wrestler for four years in high school. He too sees being a multi-sport athlete as beneficial for his development.<\/p>\n

\u201cWrestling helped a lot,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ability to being low, having leverage, using your hands, fighting \u2014 those all keyed into football. Wrestling has a lot of trade over into football, especially with hand fighting. Especially at this position on the edge, you got to use your hands effectively, and that\u2019s one thing that I carried over the most with is being able to use my hands efficiently and effectively. Everyone knows me as a football player, but wrestling had a big part in that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Patriots are not specifically targeting athletes with a diverse background, but as Eliot Wolf mentioned it\u2019s definitely not a negative either.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s an added bonus,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we like the film it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, this guy\u2019s a wrestler.\u2019 So, it\u2019s kind of a point, like when you say a guy\u2019s a wrestler, you kind of know what that\u2019s talking about with the lower body strength, the leverage and obviously, those things translate to playing offensive or defensive line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coming from Illinois, Jacas is no stranger to the so-called Patriot Way. His head coach, Bret Bielema, spent two seasons under Bill Belichick in New England, winning a Super Bowl ring along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach B coached there with Bill Belichick, so the formality right there is already enough because Coach B played a lot of the Patriots film in the meeting rooms and kind of try to relate how they practice, how they play, to our team,\u201d Jacas explained. \u201cSo, whenever they called me, it felt like just right. And I just like their brand of football. Kevin Richardson is up there too, as well. I feel like I know a lot about the Patriots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides Bielema and Richardson, who joined the Patriots as a defensive assistant last offseason, Jacas also has a connection to former Patriots director of skill development Joe Kim<\/a>. Kim also spent multiple seasons in New England before making the move to Illinois in 2025.<\/p>\n

Eli Raridon\u2019s ties to the Patriots are not that obvious. However, his father, Scott, played offensive lineman and long snapper at Notre Dame under former New England offensive coordinator Charlie Weis.<\/p>\n

The Patriots feel good about their haul on Day 2 of the draft, but that does not mean the process to get there was entirely smooth either. In fact, as Eliot Wolf revealed, there was some debate leading up to the team\u2019s third-round selection.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was probably most debate around the Eli pick, and then all those guys ended up going,\u201d he said. \u201cEli was the highest player available on our board for a while there, but there were some guys that were kind of on the same level. But obviously, needing a tight end, having a guy that\u2019s 6-foot-6, 245, that is kind of just scratching the surface, ultimately won out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leading up to the 2026 NFL Draft, we ranked the New England Patriots\u2019 roster needs from most to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":874327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2050],"tags":[7,1167,249,52640,727,1095,2326,2094,6,208],"class_list":{"0":"post-874326","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-new-england-patriots-analysis","12":"tag-new-england-patriots-draft","13":"tag-new-england-patriots-opinion","14":"tag-newengland","15":"tag-newenglandpatriots","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-patriots"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116465746820543363","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874326","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=874326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/874327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=874326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=874326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=874326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}