POLL: Lomu, Jacas, Raridon

[Zuma]

Which player is further ahead in their development...

Lomu, Jacas and Raridon: what is your opinion of these 3 so far in the Patriots system? I think all 3 have been less productive then we thought up to this point. Do we think they would contribute much in 2026?

- Lomu: so far he's not playing like a 1st rounder. He was the last 1st round OT that teams "thought" he might contribute. IMO part of the problem is moving him around so much. Let him grow and get better at one position on the OL before moving him elsewhere.

- Jacas: didn't sign until late and perhaps that is holding him back some. He can bull rush and that's about it so far. We need a season or 2 before we can comp K. White.

- Raridon: his growth so far is probably on-par with where he was drafted...maybe. He's not much of a blocker and people need to understand that. He may improve in that area if he puts on 10 lbs for 2027.

 

[Uptown]

I think they’re all coming along relatively well. Nothing particularly “eye-popping” from any of them yet. However, I do appreciate Lomu’s effort, attitude & willingness to be coached at various positions on the line. He should be fine as he improves his technique, hand placement & strength.

Obviously, Jacas fits the bill physically, but he lacks “tricks in his bag” so to speak. He needs to develop in that area & improve vs the run. With that being said, he will contribute early. We need him to..

Raridon; my favorite draft prospect. As stated, he needs to add strength, but he’s actually played pretty well when given the opportunity…in practice, joint practices & games. He’s had a couple of mishaps, but that’s to be expected. He also had a couple of big plays negated due to penalties from other players. All in all, he seems to have at least grasped the system enough to be noticeable out there & that’s all we can really ask for at the point. I do expect him to make some big plays in the passing game throughout the season though..

 

[n1997y]

RLKAG.

Too early, far too early.

And “Farther ahead in their development” is too subjective. I think Jacas is developing well but got a late start. I still think he has the highest potential, but he’s not as far along yet. Lomu seems to be struggling a bit to translate his alleged athleticism to results in the pro game. Raridon seems to be on track.

But that is all point in time. By this time next year I expect they’ll all be doing very well, based on what I’ve seen so far.

 

[Zuma]

I think they’re all coming along relatively well. Nothing particularly “eye-popping” from any of them yet. However, I do appreciate Lomu’s effort, attitude & willingness to be coached at various positions on the line. He should be fine as he improves his technique, hand placement & strength.

The effort is there but results have been underwhelming. He hasn’t played a single regular season snap yet. Let’s revisit in 2-3 months.

Obviously, Jacas fits the bill physically, but he lacks “tricks in his bag” so to speak. He needs to develop in that area & improve vs the run. With that being said, he will contribute early. We need him to..

I was with you until “he will contribute early”.

Raridon; my favorite draft prospect. As stated, he needs to add strength, but he’s actually played pretty well when given the opportunity…in practice, joint practices & games. He’s had a couple of mishaps, but that’s to be expected. He also had a couple of big plays negated due to penalties from other players. All in all, he seems to have at least grasped the system enough to be noticeable out there & that’s all we can really ask for at the point. I do expect him to make some big plays in the passing game throughout the season though..

So it’s a trade-off…should Raridon put on 10 lbs and become a better overall blocker or continue with learning to play much faster which is what the coaches are asking him to do (and I don’t mean the game slowing down for him). Their is a tradeoff with weight and speed.

 

[TommyD4207]

This feels more like a Week 10 poll.

 

[Uptown]

The effort is there but results have been underwhelming. He hasn’t played a single regular season snap yet. Let’s revisit in 2-3 months.

I was with you until “he will contribute early”.

So it’s a trade-off…should Raridon put on 10 lbs and become a better overall blocker or continue with learning to play much faster which is what the coaches are asking him to do (and I don’t mean the game slowing down for him). Their is a tradeoff with weight and speed.

In regards to Jacas, he’s gonna play..even if he’s #3 in the edge rotation as of now. We don’t have many options at edge. “Contribute” doesn’t necessarily mean accumulating sacks right away. Although, that’d be ideal..

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Which player is further ahead in their development...

Lomu, Jacas and Raridon: what is your opinion of these 3 so far in the Patriots system? I think all 3 have been less productive then we thought up to this point. Do we think they would contribute much in 2026?

- Lomu: so far he's not playing like a 1st rounder. He was the last 1st round OT that teams "thought" he might contribute. IMO part of the problem is moving him around so much. Let him grow and get better at one position on the OL before moving him elsewhere.

- Jacas: didn't sign until late and perhaps that is holding him back some. He can bull rush and that's about it so far. We need a season or 2 before we can comp K. White.

- Raridon: his growth so far is probably on-par with where he was drafted...maybe. He's not much of a blocker and people need to understand that. He may improve in that area if he puts on 10 lbs for 2027.

The Lomu analysis is a little unfair.
He's playing as well you would expect from late first rd OT making a position switch.
If you look at the OTs drafted in front of him that were realistic targets for us (Freeling/Miller/Iheanachor), they've all had struggles.

Jacas hasn't played with starters inside beside him, that's when we will see how he really does. On the flip side he hasn't gone against starting LTs.

Raridon looks good to me, I don't think he needs to add 10 lbs to to be an effective blocker. It will help, but I expect serviceable blocking from him.

Far too early to really make any type of judgement, but I like the progress/potential of all them so far.

 

[Tunescribe]

Which player is further ahead in their development...

Lomu, Jacas and Raridon: what is your opinion of these 3 so far in the Patriots system? I think all 3 have been less productive then we thought up to this point. Do we think they would contribute much in 2026?

- Lomu: so far he's not playing like a 1st rounder. He was the last 1st round OT that teams "thought" he might contribute. IMO part of the problem is moving him around so much. Let him grow and get better at one position on the OL before moving him elsewhere.

- Jacas: didn't sign until late and perhaps that is holding him back some. He can bull rush and that's about it so far. We need a season or 2 before we can comp K. White.

- Raridon: his growth so far is probably on-par with where he was drafted...maybe. He's not much of a blocker and people need to understand that. He e may improve in that area if he puts on 10 lbs for 2027.

They're moving Lomu around to develop versatility. Since he's not starting but will be on the 53, he needs to be ready for a stopgap role if/when needed at tackle or guard.

 

[jboston19]

RLKAG is the obvious choice.

Raridon is probably the easiest answer. Although TEs usually take a while to adapt to the NFL game, he’s been precocious in training camp so far.

Lomu was regarded as a project coming in and that’s proved true, while Jacas shows a lot of promise but also displays that he needed seasoning and missed a bunch of time in camp.