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MORSE: Patriots Don’t Sit Back, Team Trades up to Get Their Guy

Patriots' Proactive Draft: Securing Standout EDGE Gabe Jacas and Promising TE Eli Raridon

Mark Morse

April 25, 2026 at 4:30 am ET

MORSE: Patriots Don’t Sit Back, Team Trades up to Get Their Guy

(PHOTO: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)

🕑 Read Time: 6 minutes

Posted Under: 2026 Patriots Draft

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Eliot Wolf didn’t sit back and let the draft get away from him like he did in 2024. He learned his lesson and traded up in the second round to take what could be the best EDGE player from this draft class.

2-55 Gabe Jacas EDGE Illinois 6’3.5”, 261-pounds, 4.69 40, 30 reps BP – 21 Years Old

When the Patriots’ braintrust saw the run on EDGE players early in the 2nd round, they reacted and traded up to get the player they wanted. Gabe Jacas was a very athletic, strong, and productive EDGE player for Illinois. His Relative Athletic Score (RAS) was 9.59 out of 10. This score was 95^th of 2239 DEs tested since 1987. A team Captain, Jacas led the Big Ten with 11 sacks. I was pounding the table for the Patriots to jump up in the 50 range to take Jacas. The Patriots traded 63, 4^th Rd 131, and 6^th Rd 202 to acquire #55 to take Jacas. It was well worth it. If the Patriots were forced to stick and pick at #31 in the 1^st round, I would have taken Jacas in that spot, that is how much I liked him. They reacted and made the trade, and he is exactly what the team wanted. His size and speed will allow him to be a three-down player.

NFL Draft Buzz had this to say about Jacas. “After a quieter sophomore season split between outside linebacker and defensive end, Jacas broke out as a junior in 2024 with 74 tackles, 13.0 TFLs, 8.0 sacks, and three forced fumbles across 13 starts. His 13-tackle, 2.5-sack showing against Michigan highlighted the year, and he earned All-Big Ten Third Team recognition.

As a senior team captain in 2025, Jacas led the Big Ten with 11.0 sacks while adding 13.5 TFLs and three forced fumbles. His 27.0 career sacks rank second in Illinois program history. A strong Senior Bowl performance further solidified his stock heading into the combine.”

Gabe Jacas

(PHOTO: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images)

Scouting Report: Strengths

Outstanding pass-rush production with 27 career sacks across four seasons as a starter.
Wrestling background shows up in hand fighting and leverage at the point of attack.
Excellent speed-to-power conversion that collapses the pocket through the tackle’s chest.
Carries 260 pounds on a big frame with very little wasted weight.
Violent chop-rip combination knocks outside hands free to turn the corner.
Solid recognition of when he reaches pocket depth, works back inside to find the quarterback.
Consistent effort on every snap; coaches trusted him with near every-down responsibilities as a senior.
Showed he can win inside too, giving coordinators flexibility to move him around the front.

Dane Brugler had this to say about Jacas. “A four-year starter at Illinois, Jacas lined up as a stand-up boundary edge rusher in defensive coordinator Aaron Henry’s 3-4 base scheme. He put himself on the NFL radar with his Freshman All-America season, then led the Illini in sacks, tackles for loss and forced fumbles as both a junior and senior. He also led the Big Ten during the 2025 regular season with 11 sacks (no other Illinois player had more than two). With his rocked-up, athletic build, Jacas is a quick and violent pass rusher who doesn’t 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. Overall, Jacas won’t 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.”

Brugler had Jacas as the #11 EDGE player and #51 overall player. His projection was that Jacas would be a 2^nd / 3^rd round selection.

Mike Renner from USA Today had this to say. “Jacas is a former wrestler, and it shows on tape. He has multiple ways to win as a pass rusher, even if he may not have a singular dominant trait.” Renner had Jacas as his #34 player overall.

Jacas was a two-time Florida District 3A Heavyweight State Champion wrestler from Port St. Lucie.

Eli Raridon

(PHOTO: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)

Eli Raridon TE Notre Dame 6’6.1”, 245-pounds, 4.62 40, 9.66 RAS, 47 of 1356 TEs since 1987 – 22 Years Old

The Patriots read the Tight End draft run correctly and pounced on their guy at the bottom of the 3^rd round. Dane Brugler had Raridon ranked as the #9 TE and a 4^th Rd selection. Only one of the TEs he had ranked ahead of Raridon was not taken yet. The Patriots didn’t have any 4^th round picks left after the two trade-ups for Lomu and Jacas. If they wanted Raridon, they had to take him at the end of the 3^rd.

Dane Brugler had this to say about Raridon. “A one-and-a-half-year starter at Notre Dame, Raridon was a Y tight end (50-50 split between inline and slot) in offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s scheme. A native son of South Bend (his dad was an offensive lineman for Brady Quinn), his first two seasons were disrupted by knee injuries, but he stayed healthy as a junior and senior and was productive when targeted — even if he wasn’t a central aspect of the offense. Raridon shows more promise than one might expect of a player with just 48 career catches. Though rough around the edges as a route runner, he has an athletic foundation that can become a strength of his game. As a blocker, his upright posture and inconsistent hands work against him, but he can reach and cut off defenders without sacrificing his control. Overall, Raridon is still figuring things out, but he gets to top gear quickly and has promising ball skills and blocking chops. His college tape shows the building blocks of an intriguing pro-level tight end, although the medicals will influence his draft projection.”

This is what NFL Draft Buzz said about Raridon. “Raridon tore his right ACL during his senior (HS) basketball season, then suffered the devastating blow of re-tearing the same ACL during practice in October 2022 as a true freshman. The double knee reconstruction cost him nearly two full seasons, limiting him to just five games before the injury and seven contests in 2023 as he worked his way back. His 2024 campaign finally showed what Notre Dame signed, as he appeared in all 16 games during the Irish’s march to the national championship game, starting three times and catching 11 passes for 90 yards with two touchdowns. The 2025 season has become his showcase year, with Raridon starting all 12 games and finishing third on the team with 32 receptions for 482 yards. His career-best performance came against NC State when he torched the Wolfpack secondary for seven catches and 109 yards, and he opened the season by leading Notre Dame with 97 receiving yards at Miami. Across 36 career games and 1,293 offensive snaps, Raridon has evolved from an injury rehab project into one of college football’s most intriguing vertical tight end weapons.

The 79-inch frame that basketball coaches loved has translated differently to football, creating both advantages and challenges. Raridon carries his 251 pounds across that long frame without the thickness scouts typically want at the position, ranking in just the 24th percentile for tight end weight. What matters more than the stopwatch is how that speed plays on Sundays, and Raridon’s tape suggests the straight-line velocity works better than the testing number implies. He entered Notre Dame as the program’s highest-rated tight end recruit since 2018, and despite the injury setbacks, he’s delivered enough production as a senior to warrant significant draft consideration. “

Scouting Report: Strengths

Tears apart zone coverages with his length and feel for finding space, settling into holes between levels and converting short gains into chunk yardage consistently.
Forces safeties to respect him vertically, which opens up the entire middle of the field and gives the offense an extra dimension defenses have to account for.
Timing at the route break point keeps improving, snapping his head around on schedule and giving quarterbacks clean throwing windows to hit him in rhythm.
Brings more physicality as a blocker than that lean build suggests, delivering functional pop at the second level and showing he’ll get after people in the trenches.
Grip strength catches you off guard, locking onto defenders when blocking and securing passes through contact even when defenders are draped all over him.
Works seam routes intelligently by using those long strides and reading coverage shells, knowing when to throttle down versus when to keep pushing vertical.
Can handle three-down work with his blend of receiving chops and blocking commitment, the kind of tight end who doesn’t come off the field based on situation.
Route stems getting more advanced as he figures out how to manipulate defenders with tempo changes and leverage positioning, steering coverage before breaking into open grass.

CBS Sports had this profile of Raridon. “Eli Raridon did not break into the starting lineup at Notre Dame until his senior season, but the wait paid off. Raridon finished with 32 catches for 482 yards while averaging 15.1 yards per reception. He is one of the few tight ends in this class capable of contributing as both an inline blocker and a receiver. While he is not dominant in either area, that well-rounded ability will be attractive to NFL teams.”

About

Career: Family: Grandfather Scott Raridon Sr. was a strength coach on Notre Dame’s 1988 national championship team; father Scott Raridon Jr. played football at Notre Dame
2025: Third on team in receptions (32) and receiving yards (482) but 0 TDs

Strengths

Well-built tight end with a lean, muscular frame.
Consistent inline run blocker with good power.
Physical runner after the catch; smaller defensive backs bounce off him.

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About Mark Morse

Merrimack Valley native and lifelong fan of the New England Patriots. My earliest memories of the Patriots were attending as a child with my dad, the off-season practice at Phillips Academy. I was at the Patriots game at Harvard Stadium in 1970 where Bob “Harpo” Gladieux was called out of the stands by the stadium announcer over the PA to play in the game. Analyzing the draft since ESPN first started to televise it in 1980 and former writer for the Lowell Sun Newspaper.