2026 Draft Recap

The 2026 NFL Draft is in the books. All 32 teams will have hoped to have left the draft with a new, improved roster and ready to take it to camp.

The Patriots entered the draft with 11 picks and finished with 9. Moving around the board, the team even acquired a 7th-round pick for 2027 from the Vikings.

I’ve struggled with how I want to grade this class. I see a pathway for everyone we selected, I see areas of our roster improving. This is not the sexy star-studded class we took last year. Not just us, but numerous teams took unique, against-the-grain approaches to their draft. Guys that fell really shouldn’t have fallen in my opinion, it was head-scratching. Even my prospect darling Kyle Louis fell to the 5th round, and I was going to have a Mel Kiper crash out if he wasn’t selected sooner. Unfortunately, he became a dolphin and I’m still trying to cope with this. I digress, we saw day 2 address to areas of need, Edge, and TE. We saw day 3 become this long waiting game, not having a 4th round pick. We waited 76 picks till we made our first section on day 3.

Ultimately I trust Wolf, I trust our coaching staff, our scouts to help us build the best roster for us. Though many names were not top-tier, I think we left the draft with an excellent group, that I can see strengthening our roster in numerous roles.

Let's dive in.

Day 1 is already covered you can see my full coverage of the Caleb Lomu selection here: https://www.patriotsdraftroom.com/post/caleb-lomu

I give the Lomu selection an A. I view him as the Morgan Moses successor.

Day 2 saw a crazy run on edge rushers in the second round. We thankfully made an aggressive call to move up to pick 55 and select Gabe Jacas Edge out of Illinois, and surrendered our final 4th round pick. Directly after the Jacas pick, the run on TEs began heading into the third round. We did not have to make another aggressive move; instead, we stayed put at 95 and selected Eli Raridon TE out of Notre Dame. We selected two areas of need, which are two very promising prospects that can help us right away.

Day 3 felt like the longest wait ever. Watching talent fly off the board, great prospects that fell were taken early, as well as plenty of… nicely speaking interesting picks. We waited 76 picks for our first selection. As pick 171 arrived we selected Karon Prunty CB of Wake Forrest. At 196 we selected much-needed tackle depth in Dametrious Crownover RT Texas A&M. At 212 a versatile LB Namdi Obiazor of TCU. At 234 QB Behren Morton of Texas Tech. At 245 Jam Miller the RB of Alabama. With the final selection of our draft, at 247 we finally selected a Boston College prospect Quintayvious Hutchins the speed rusher with special teams capability. Most of these names selected on day 3, were not seen in many mocks for the Patriots. They are not the star-studded names that we as fans rejoice thinking we got the steals of the draft. These prospects were calculated, and scout-driven. The Patriots got players with years of experience, special teams capabilities, and will provide much-needed depth. This is a draft and develop team as stated by Eliot Wolf, there is a vision and pathway in place for these prospects to see the field. It's up to them to prove themselves and prove to the team that they're worth the selection.

Below I will give my evaluation and my opinion on the 8 prospects selected in this draft.

Gabe Jacas Edge Illinois 6’3 260 lbs

With the 55th pick in the NFL Draft, the New England Patriots selected Gabe Jacas EDGE Illinois. Gabe was one of MY guys, viewed as one of the perfect Vrabel-style players in this draft. I loved everything he brought to the table in terms of his intangibles, his play style, and his potential to become one of the best players in this draft as he gains more experience. His leadership, his preparation, and his dedication to his craft stood out to me. A 2 time captain, a film junkie, being one of the first ones in and last ones out of the facility daily, he wanted to lead by example, and have all the answers to the test for every opponent. His coaches at Illinois loved him, he was hands down the heart and soul of their defense and possibly the entire team, inspiring his teammates to get on his level and attempt to put in as much work as he applied to himself daily. He wants to succeed at everything he applies himself to, whether in football, or in his second passion wrestling where he was an all-state wrestler. On the football field, his career totals at Illinois included 183 tackles 97 of which were solo tackles, 27 sacks (11 of which occurred last season) 35.5 tackles for a loss, and 7 forced fumbles. His production improved year after year, constantly working to improve his game, and he will even tell you he's still not a finished product, but he will work his ass off to be the best version of himself. The Patriots got an absolute Dawg! In Jacas. After the edge run began in the second round I was nervous he would get snagged, there's so much to like about him, ultimately, the staff loved him enough to make another aggressive move and traded up to get him. The Patriots sacrificed 2 4th-round picks for Lomu and Jacas, and if it's to benefit the football team it's absolutely worth it. I had Jacas 26 on my big board, he was my 9th-ranked edge when the college season ended but would have been in my top 7 post-combine. I respect so much about this young man, I'm so happy to see the Patriots took him and saw the same potential, the locker room fit, and the work he's willing to commit to this team. My favorite pick in this draft!

A+++++++

Eli Raridon TE Notre Dame 6’6 245 lbs

For the last 3 seasons, Patriots fans have hoped the day would come to select a young TE with upside and the Patriots found just that. The edge run was the trend in round 2, and the TE run was the trend for round 3. With the 95th pick, the Patriots didn't have to make any moves, as Raridon fell right in their laps. Raridon was my 9th-ranked tight end who could have been higher but I flagged him for 2 injuries that occurred to his right ACL his senior year of high school and freshman year of college. I would have preferred to have seen more yearly production out of him, but it's not always the case for numerous prospects. I was a Tanner Koziol believer I loved the size and consistent receiving production and was willing to look past the lack of blocking we saw from him. Raridon mixes what I liked about Koziol and what I wished were more of a part of his game in blocking ability. Raridon is a consistent catcher with good size, catch radius, and ability after the catch. He didn't have the touchdown production I would have liked to have seen from him, but in a loaded offense with 2 of the best RBs in college football, red zone and goal line opportunities weren't granted to Raridon when Notre Dame could just hand it off to Love and Price to finish the job. What I envision for Raridon is to be a direct replacement of Austin Hooper for this season, but I don't foresee a huge production out of him in year one as TE usually takes the most time to adjust to the NFL. I see him hitting the field and coming up with some designed plays for Raridon to help separate from coverage and hit open spots of the field and make big plays after the catch. The most important thing about this selection is the additional weapon it provides for Drake Maye, losing Hooper at his age didn't seem like a huge loss but having someone with receiving ability opposite Hunter Henry was absolutely a priority to me. I think there's a ton of upside in Raridon, Notre Dame has produced numerous productive TEs over the years, and though they have only had one full season of consistent production with Raridon, the flashes he shows, the traits he has, and fit on the Patriots offense, excites me to see how involved Raridon will become early on.

A

Karon Prunty CB Wake Forrest 6’1 192 lbs

The most controversial pick of the draft. Day 3 began with the longest wait to finally make a selection in the 5th round 76 picks had passed since we made our last selection. With the 171st pick Prunty was the selection which lead to a lot of confused reactions by fans. Many stated they had no idea who he was, some immediately said this was a reach, or a bone-headed choice that we could have gotten him much later…. To which I will reply because you may have no idea who this is, does that mean he is a bad player? The answer is no he's not, he's far from it. I was actually introduced to Prunty back in November by a friend of mine who thought he had found the biggest sleeper in this draft, he asked me to watch him and asked me to watch Prunty and confirm that he's not crazy. These were the notes I took: “He plays tight coverage, not afraid to get involved in the run game. Man/zone versatility. Great field vision and awareness. Special teams versatility as a gunner, where he’s frequently burned past his coverage.”

My friend was in fact not crazy, I liked what I saw of Prunty including his special teams abilities. PFF had Prunty as the highest graded pick we selected with an 86.6 grade (say what you will about PFF, I get it). I can see from the fans' standpoint why they may not have liked the selection here, or there was this impression that other players were on the board… this was not a normal draft, numerous teams were reaching on players I had lower grades on, meanwhile players I had higher grades on continued to fall, some were selected and some became UDFAs. This was a get your guy draft. Prunty to me I envision him being Carlton Davis' replacement down the road, in the meantime I see Prunty contributing on special teams being opposite of Schooler as gunners. What made Prunty special to me is the years of experience, the year after year growth displayed. He started his collegiate career at Kansas in 2020 where he was a true freshman All-American, he left the school for personal reasons, forfeiting his ability to play in 2021. He joined North Carolina A&T and played there from 2022 to 2024. To bring himself back to the eyes of scouts he made the transfer to Wake Forrest. At his pro day, Prunty ran a 4.45 but some disputed it saying they had him clocked at 4.39. The Patriots had him in for a 30 visit, and decided to select him in the 5th round. Prunty’s career stats were 166 tackles, 3 sacks, 7 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, and 30 passes defended. The more dislikes I see from this pick the more it's becoming one of my favorite selections from the Patriots. Where he plays and what he will eventually do on the field will determine the true grade of this pick. I believe the Patriots found a diamond in the rough.

B+

Dametrious Crownover RT Texas A&M 6’7 319 lbs

As mentioned above during the Prunty write-up, players I had graded higher continued to fall. Crownover was someone we all expected to probably get taken on day 2 by tackle-needy teams. Miraculously he fell right to the Patriots in the 6th round with pick 196. Crownover was a controversial player in terms of his production at A&M, I've heard numerous experts dislike his play and feel he was constantly losing reps and sloppy play style, etc. It wasn't until the Senior Bowl that he started turning heads. At the SB Crownover showed that the issues he had heard were criticized in his game, were fixable, and showed he's capable of putting in work to refine his game and be coachable, and was even showing the ability to be a potential swing tackle. He showcased a better anchor, better footwork, and good hand techniques. The former TE turned tackle was able to showcase his athleticism at the combine running a 5.14 40 time and had a 1.79 10-yard split. Crownover is an older prospect at 24 years old. Why he fell to me was more questions about what he showed on film at Texas A&M allowing over 27 pressures and 3 sacks last year. He's still developing, he's far from a finished product, and with good coaching, it can help him see his true potential. In terms of the Patriots, yes, we selected a tackle earlier, you can never have too many tackles. As Alex Barth stated in the 7 years he's covered the team he “finally feels we actually have tackle depth.” Will Crownover eventually become a starter? The jury is out but what I will say is you never know what can happen during the length of the season, you need to have as many reliable assets as you can to protect the most valuable asset your QB. I don't think Crownover is the perfect prospect, but he has excellent traits that with time can develop nicely. With where the Patriots took him they got excellent value with this pick in the 6th round.

A

Namdi Obiazor LB TCU 6’2 229 lbs

Day 3 LBs flew off the board, as many of the guys I loved got selected in round 4 getting into the end of the 6th round you are banking on anyone with upside at that point. I wonder if the Patriots still had one of their 4th round picks if a Kyle Louis, Bryce Boettcher, or even a Kaleb Elarms-Orr would have been considered for an LB selection. Instead with pick 212 in the 6th round Namdi Obiazor was the selection, a 24-year-old versatile LB. A former JUCO (Iowa Western Community College) player took an underdog approach there and got himself noticed by TCU to transfer and utilized his self-starter mentality to be an even better player at the next level. Obiazor has a lot of upside that can contribute to numerous areas of the team, whether in the run game, in coverage, or even on special teams. A safety converted LB, showcases Hard-hitting, physicality, smart, and great instincts. A lot to love about him and his upside. With the lack of depth at LB I wouldn't be surprised if the Patriots try to get him involved early on and start utilizing what made him special at TCU. I like his toughness, his willingness to make an impact on every play, his non-stop motor, and his versatility. He possesses a similar attitude, skillset, and approach to other LBs I liked in this draft class.

B+

Behren Morton QB Texas Tech 6’2 221 lbs

I'm never going to be thrilled taking a QB when the Patriots already have Drake Maye and a backup in Tommy Devito, with other areas the team could have addressed such as Nose Tackle, Safety, and receiver depth. Thankfully we were informed ahead of time that the Patriots would be selecting a QB in this draft. Ron Wolf, Eliot Wolf’s father was notorious for drafting QBs, developing them, and moving them for future assets. With pick 234 they selected Behren Morton. Morton was surprisingly praised by numerous draft experts such as Todd McShay, as well as the controversial draft takes of Chris Simms, Morton is viewed in high regard as someone with a ton of upside and potential. After battling numerous injuries Morton still played through all of them from his shoulder sprain that he had surgery on going into last year, to his fractured fibula only missing 2 games. He has toughness and the willingness to compete. Finishing last year with 22 touchdowns and 6 interceptions and a completion rate of 66%, a healthier Morton would have probably done more. Will he be able to be flipped in the future with some appearances or will he be the long-term back up, time will tell. He already has a previous relationship with Drake Maye both being in the same high school class and they went through some camps together over the years.

C

Jam Miller RB Alabama 5’11 209 lbs

With the 245th pick, the Patriots have a new addition for the RB room. Not the most productive RB we’ve seen come out of Alabama over the years, but as made obvious by their playstyle the offense has switched to a more pass-heavy approach. Finishing his career playing in 43 games with 1,596 rushing yards off 349 rushing attempts with 13 touchdowns. In the receiving game, Miller contributed 40 receptions for 336 yards and 2 touchdowns. Miller ran a 4.42 40 time. He is not the best pass protector which is an area of his game we should hope he improves on. He’s not the most elusive back either we won’t see a constant change of direction shake defenders off with a crazy move set. What Miller is is a physical one-cut style back who’s built like the prototypical RB, using his momentum and strength to seek contact and bounce off of it to gain extra yards. Reliable ball carrier with only 2 fumbles in his career. Miller was not my first choice for us to consider at back as I would have preferred to see someone with more versatility maybe someone who is proven in the kick return game to help us replace the loss of Gibson. There's potential that he can help us in goal-line and short-yardage situations. Miller could serve as a good change of pace back who can truck opposing defenders and excite the team as a drive continues. I'm curious to see the utilization of Miller in McDaniels offense and hope he's able to bring a different flavor that helps him see the field more.

B

Quintayvious Hutchins EDGE Boston College 6’3 233 lbs

We heard for the last two months from Eliot Wolf the desire for a speed rusher. With the 247th pick, the Patriots may have found just that. No, Hutchins didn't have the best testing numbers running at a 4.74 40 time, but what he shows on film doesn't match the drills he ran. You can be fast on the field without having it reflect your combine as seen by numerous receivers in the NFL. At the Senior Bowl, we saw Hutchins display a variety in his pass-rush arsenal, using good hand techniques and juke moves displaying his elusiveness to bypass tackles and show what he can do when he's got a clear shot to the QB. Hutchins was also previously used in special teams packages at BC having 4 tackles on special teams. On defense, he finished his collegiate career playing in 43 games having 72 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 2 fumble recoveries. Hutchins was a team captain in 2025. Before coming to BC Hutchins previously played TE before switching to edge. Being a 7th round pick you can't expect the world; but the versatility shown throughout his football career is noteworthy. It's also good to see us finally select someone from Boston College, the last player we took from BC was Ron Brace in the second round back in 2009. Fans in the northeast or BC fans can finally have someone they've watched the last few years potentially contribute to our team for years.

B

Final Thoughts

We were prewarned by Wolf about his feelings towards this draft class. This was not the sexiest draft class, teams across the league did not value a majority of these players as experts did. What we came away with was a look towards the future, guys who can come in as rotation pieces, supply us with depth, and help the team whenever their number is called. Jacas was my favorite pick in this draft. Prunty, I genuinely believe we have a diamond in the rough. We supplied Drake Maye with protection, and weapons to help out on offense. This is a really solid class. In a class that was consistently labeled a lackluster class, I believe the Patriots came away pretty well!

My final grade for the Patriots' 2026 draft class is a B+

If this is your first time here, I thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog! If you've been some of the few that have read every blog, and shared anything I've posted leading up to the draft, I thank you, it means the world!

My next blog will be on our 12 UDFA signings. Stay posted on my X @paperwavesde for when that drops next.

I will begin working on my summer scouting for the upcoming college season in June.

Thank you again!

-Tyler/PaperWavesDE of Patriots Draft Room