Patriots — 2026 Draft Recap

Welcome to Muffed, your New England Patriots 2026 draft recap. Nine picks for Eliot Wolf and Mike Vrabel, and the headline is loud: a tackle at 28, another tackle later, then three swings at the pass rush and secondary — including a Day 2 edge with double-digit college sacks. Trenches and pass-rush, top to bottom. Offense got the splash up front and some lottery tickets late; the defensive front and secondary got the volume. One wrinkle worth flagging: Vrabel wasn't in the building on Day 3, by design. Wolf said the time away "really needs to be time away," and the scouting staff ran the back half of the board.

Start up front, because that's where this class plants its flag. The Patriots gave up 48 sacks in 2025 and absorbed 89 quarterback hits — over five a game. You don't fix that with magic; you fix it with bodies who can move. Enter Caleb Lomu, the Utah tackle at 28, with a 9.90 Relative Athletic Score. Quick definition: Relative Athletic Score is a 0-to-10 grade comparing a prospect's combine and pro-day testing to every player at his position since 1987. A 9.90 puts Lomu in the top 1 percent of every tackle ever measured. Then at pick 196, Dametrious Crownover out of Texas A&M — 6-foot-7, 320 pounds, a 7.82 Relative Athletic Score, and Wolf openly surprised he was there: "He's played a lot of football… he's really light on his feet." Two tackles for the second straight year. Wolf flat-out said you never end up with enough.

The passing-game additions came on Day 2 and Day 3. The Patriots ran shotgun on 55 percent of their snaps in 2025, and they needed a movement piece — enter Eli Raridon, the Notre Dame tight end at 95. Raridon caught 32 balls for 482 yards, fourth among tight ends in his conference, with plus 0.57 predicted points added per play and plus 23.48 total. That's elite per-snap efficiency. Pair it with a 9.52 Relative Athletic Score — top 5 percent of tight ends ever measured — and the fit is obvious. Then at pick 234, a quarterback: Behren Morton from Texas Tech. The case is production and toughness — 2,780 yards, 22 touchdowns to 6 picks, plus 104.89 total predicted points added in the Big 12. Wolf paraphrased the pitch: live arm, smart, played through injuries, fits the offense Josh McDaniels wants to run. The 5.66 Relative Athletic Score is middle of the pack, and Wolf was honest that going from Texas Tech's spread to McDaniels' system is "night and day." Developmental swing.

The defensive haul is where this class earns its volume. The Patriots' 2025 defense generated 35 sacks — middle of the pack — and the bet to push that number up is Gabe Jacas, the Illinois edge at 55. Jacas put up 11 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss in 2025. Second in the Big Ten. Ninth nationally. That's not good production, that's outlier production. Layer on a 9.59 Relative Athletic Score — top 5 percent of defensive ends ever tested — and you've got a Day 2 swing with the production and the traits. At pick 171, Karon Prunty, a Wake Forest corner with an 8.66 Relative Athletic Score and 8 pass breakups in 2025, tied for fifth in his conference. Real ball-skills signal from a Day 3 corner. And at pick 247, the local kid: Quintayvious Hutchins, Boston College edge. The 5.15 Relative Athletic Score is muffed-the-measurables territory, but Wolf was specific — physical, long, special-teams tape, and he impressed Vrabel at the local day with his strength on the pad. Eyes-open traits pick.

Run defense got its dart at pick 212: Namdi Obiazor, the TCU linebacker — 88 tackles in 2025 and a 9.13 Relative Athletic Score, top 10 percent of linebackers ever tested. That's exactly the movement profile you want on a late-round flyer. And at pick 245, Jam Miller, the Alabama running back, with a 7.44 Relative Athletic Score — a solid athletic baseline for a backfield dart.

Pick of the draft. You can argue Lomu at 28 for positional value and historic testing. You can argue Raridon for per-snap efficiency at a premium spot. The pick is Jacas at 55. Day 2 edge rushers who finish top-10 nationally in sacks AND test in the top 5 percent athletically are the rarest combination in any draft class. Production-plus-traits overlap is what separates hits from misses at the position. Lomu is the bigger name, but tackles in the back half of round 1 are a known commodity. Jacas at 55, with this profile, is where this class makes its bones — or doesn't.

Looking ahead to 2026, the front-seven investment has to show up on Sundays. The 2025 defense was already quietly competent — minus 32.06 total passing expected points added allowed, minus 13.48 rushing — but the sack number needs to climb, and Jacas and Obiazor are the swings. On offense, Lomu and Crownover have to stabilize a line that gave up 48 sacks, full stop. Wolf admitted the receiver board fell away from them, so they're banking on undrafted free agents to fill that room — that's the soft spot to watch. But trenches and edge? They smashed the assignment.