Patriots 2026 Draft Class

Zak Drapeau
Apr 30
5 min read

by Zak Drapeau

Sportz Nation - 4/27/2026

Photo by WJ/ Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Caleb Lomu

Tackle

Utah

Pick: #28

Lomu is an athletic Tackle with good size and room to grow even more muscle on his frame. As Utah's Left Tackle for the past two seasons, Lomu was a better pass blocker than run blocker and was also named to the 2024 Academic All-Big 12 team as well.

As the Patriots depth chart stands, Campbell and Moses are better off at Tackle in 2026. Lomu is athletic and strong but needs to improve his footwork to be an effective every down Offensive Tackle in the league. His pass blocking should become very good with improvements in his lateral speed and ability to keep his hands low on bending rushers and it should remain better than his run blocking which is why I actually believe he will be the Patriots starting Left Tackle in 2027 and moving forward.

Will Campbell was the higher pick and a tremendous talent and he can still be a Left tackle in the league no matter how bad he was in the Super Bowl. But his dense build, strength and ability to get into the second level projects very well to the right side of the line and would give Lomu the chance to stick to the left side as he did at Utah.

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Gabe Jacas

Outside Linebacker

Illinois

Pick: #55

A player who I compared to Matthew Judon in my Edge Rusher rankings of this class, Jacas is a 6'4", 260-pound edge rusher who plays more like he's 30 pounds lighter. Jacas is a violent and quick outisde linebacker who improved his sack numbers all 4 years he was at Illinois.

At the moment, he is purely a pass rush threat and struggles with his tackling fundamentals especially against larger more aggressive running backs. With his size he should definitely be able to improve his tackling if not his mentality for tackling.

Likely the OLB3 for the Patriots defense behind Landry and Dre'Mont Jones, I fully expect Jacas to become the Pats' #2 rusher by midseason and grab 3 to 7 sacks in his rookie season.

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Photo by Justin Casterline/ Getty Images

Eli Raridon

Tight End

Notre Dame

Pick: #95

Raridon is a special athlete at the Tight End position and standing at 6'6" and 245 pounds, ran like the wind and jumped out of the building at the NFL Combine. Not a refined route runner, Raridon is still an inline Tight End and is more of a receiving threat than a blocker.

Raridon is a competent blocker but will need to add a lot more mass and muscle on to his slim frame to be effective at the next level. The other big red flag for Raridon is his injury history, being that he tore his right ACL twice between 2021 and 2023. He was healthy and productive for the entire 2025 season but a recurring injury in the same leg is always something to monitor.

Raridon should be the Patriots TE2 and likely see some playing time right away, albeit likely just in passing plays for the Patriots at least at first. Raridon's ability to find open areas in zone coverage and beat DBs using his massive size and great athleticism could see him become their starting Tight End sooner than later, all depending on if he can stay healthy. If he can, Raridon could easily become a steal of a 3rd round pick.

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Karon Prunty

Cornerback

Wake Forest

Pick: #171

We now skip to the end of Round 5 for the Patriots' next draft pick, Wake Forrest Cornerback Karon Prunty. Prunty has shown flashes of being an exceptionally smart zone cornerback with very good range thanks to his 6'2" frame and long arms.

He has also shown no exceptional athletic traits or speed and is otherwise a very project player or a pigeon-holed deep zone corner.

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Dametrious Crownover

Tackle

Texas A&M

Pick: #196

Even as a 6th-rounder, Crownover has some potential for the Pats' O-line even if only from his size alone. After back-to-back first round Tackles that are 6'5" with questionable arm size, Crownover is 6'7" with massive arms and hands.

Crownover is also far from a refined Tackle with gaps in his pass protection and run blocking but the potentials there. If they can be patient with him and improve his first step and maybe adding some more muscle, Crownover will be a more than solid backup or even a plug-and-play RT in the future.

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Namdi Obiazor

Linebacker

TCU

Pick: #212

Obiazor is an experienced Linebacker and good tackler after 3 years starting at TCU but will likely be held to a special teams role at least at first due to his size. While he has good tackling for only 225 pounds, he needs to add some mass and work on zone coverage if he wants to play in Vrabel's defense with any regularity.

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Behren Morton

Quarterback

Texas Tech

Pick: #234

The Patriots made it known that they were looking for a QB3 with an upside in this draft and for a 7th round pick, Morton was a good fit. An above average athlete with some zip on his passes, Morton has a lot of tools you'd look for in the NFL.

He will need a lot of time to get his processing to be NFL-ready and even more time to adapt to medium and long throws but as a QB3 behind Maye and DeVito, he'll have time.

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Jam Miller

Running Back

Alabama

Pick: #245

Miller was a flyer at the end of the draft that may never see time on the field besides special teams but has a little upside to him. Not a great athlete, Miller is more of a bowling ball who does NOT like to go down. A good blocker with great toughness, I wouldn't be surprised to see Miller get some vulture touchdowns at the 1-yard line.

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Quintayvious Hutchins

Outside Linebacker

Boston College

Pick: #247

1 pick away from being Mr. Irrelevant, Hutchins might be the prospect I could see succeeding the most of any of the Patriots' Day 3 picks. Hutchins isn't a tremendous athlete and he doesn't have any premier rush moves but he is a phenomenal person who's attitude to his team and the locker room as well as his work ethic are his best attributes.