Mark My Words: 3rd Round Pick Eli Raridon is Going to Be the Patriots Next Great Folk Hero
Overall, the pundits and draftniks are all over the map when it comes to the Patriots War Room's draft performance, giving them just the 19th highest GPA. With twice as many (six) grades of C+ or lower than A- (three), and zero A's:
Which is OK by me. As I've pointed out before at least a dozen times, Bill Belichick received the consensus highest grades of any GM for the 2019 draft of N'Keal Harry, Joejuan Williams, Chase Winovich, Jarrett Stidham and a handful of guys who've been keeping their LinkedIn profiles updated for the last five years. So the fact the world is divided on the issue instead of having the unearned confidence of an imbecile suits me just fine.
It also comes with the the territory when six of your nine picks where 171 or later. This was a year when Eliot Wolf stockpiled picks in the middle rounds and used them to move up and land guys he'd targeted, OT Caleb Lomu and Edge Gabe Jacas:
Advertisement
Then sat tight at No. 95 to get their guy at a position of need who I think in the long run, this entire Patriots Rookie Class of '26 will depend on. Eli Raridon:
Icon Sportswire. Getty Images.This was Wolf's big swing. Your classic boom/bust pick we'll all be looking back at in December to give this draft a legitimate grade. If things go according to plan, Lomu redshirts for a year behind Morgan Moses while living in the weight room. Jacas will be the lesser part of an edge rusher package that already includes Harold Landry III and Dre'Mont Jones. With just Hunter Henry and role players like blocking TE Julian Hill, Raridon will have every opportunity to establish himself a classic dual threat, in-line tight end. And which has been neglected in the draft since the Bruckheimerian disasters in Round 3 of 2020 that were Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene. The role Henry has been filling for five seasons.
But it's not Henry that Raridon has been getting compared to. Yes, the national media has gone … you know where. They've spoken the unspeakable name:
Advertisement
And so have the local ones:
And some of the draft intelligentsia that don't invoke that sacred name were wondering why Raridon wasn't ranking higher on most draft boards because he checks all the boxes and measures all the measurables. And all seem to come back to the same reason. He's had ACL tears. One in high school, and another as a freshman at Notre Dame. Cued up to the 1:10 mark:
Matt Harmon and Nate Tice from Yahoo, pointing out he hasn't missed a game since. That 16 games in 2024, and 12 last year (because the Irish got hosed out of the CFB playoff berth they deserved and then turned down the honor and glory that is a spot the prestigious Pop-Tart Bowl). Which is ironic because an injury history at Arizona is the exact reason Gronk was still on the board at No. 42.
Note too that the Yahoo guys point out that on Day 1 Raridon will be an NFL-caliber blocker. And he's "a very good athlete" in both his testing:
Advertisement
… and his film:
Advertisement
And just to circle back to his blocking. Because that's what's going to keep him on the field as Josh McDaniels looks to go with Jumbo packages and make the run game more consistent in 2026:
All this is why I'm making Raridon my personal Rookie Crush this year. That, plus the Notre Dame legacy dynamic:
… because you've got to go back 19 to find a single Irish player drafted by New England, and then go back to David Givens in 2002 before that.
But it's the talent, the size and speed, the blocking ability and the upside that has me convinced this kid is going to help fill the Gronk-shaped hole that's been in my heart since 2018. Typically the Patriots folk hero types are undersized, undervalued, overlooked overachiever types. Marcus Jones. Efton Chism. Julian Edelman. Danny Woodhead. You don't typical find us applying that label to freakishly athletic 6-6, 245 guys from major programs. But I can't shake the sense Raridon is going to be the next one. The guy who'll be generating all the jersey sales come Christmas. Hopefully Christmas 2026. But if not, if they bring him along slowly, the year after and the year after that.
This guy is going to be the Pats next great tight end and fan favorite. You might not have heard it here first. But you've heard it here.