Amid the excitement of the Patriots' new-look offense, led by wide receiver A.J. Brown, has been an overlooked aspect that is finally starting to catch the attention of onlookers. Rookie tight end Eli Raridon didn't offer much optimism coming out of the draft, as he wasn't a player on most analysts' boards for New England, and his injury history had many concerned about his NFL debut.
His slow transition in the spring didn't help things, either. But that has turned around since the start of training camp, and we're finally seeing what led Eliot Wolf and Co. to take the risk in selecting him.
Through nearly a week of practice, Raridon has already made a name for himself and shared that his grasp of the offense is "night and day" since OTAs, and that things are starting to slow down for him, making practice much easier.
And he's done more than just talk the talk, as he has been consistently impressive while working with the second-team offense alongside Hunter Henry, who he could eventually succeed as soon as next season.
He has a major opportunity to earn that TE2 almost immediately, with Julian Hill having suffered a season-ending injury earlier this offseason, leaving the tight end room vulnerable beyond Henry.
From the looks of it, Raridon is taking the bull by the horns and showing that he can be the guy the offense can rely on, especially allowing Josh McDaniels to utilize the double tight end sets that he is infamous for. That could become a big part of this year's game plan.
Eli Raridon is making the strides the Patriots' offense needs ahead of the 2026 season
Going into training camp, it was going to be difficult for any offensive player to steal the spotlight from some of the biggest stars on the field with them, specifically Brown and Maye. But Raridon has done a good job of reminding everyone that he is there, and he has progressed since minicamp and OTAs.
One of his most notable attributes continues to be his speed, which Evan Lazar of Patriots.com noted this week, sharing that Raridon used that quickness "to get behind second-level defenders and ability to catch the ball in traffic standing out."
It's exactly the kind of rising to the occasion the Patriots need, with Henry being the only experienced tight end on the roster now. There have been calls to add more talent to the room, and while that could (and maybe should) still happen, Raridon isn't letting people forget what he's capable of.
It has been a slow climb to get to this point, and although he has to string together more good practices to look like a convincing threat, the strides he's already made are noteworthy and have displayed the attributes that made him a desirable addition for the team.
That's the kind of thing that Mike Vrabel mentioned earlier this week, and within a matter of days, Raridon showed exactly what the coach was talking about.
”New offense. New scheme. New NFL. Capable, willing learner. We’ll see when pads come on. Things change. But I think he’s tried to play with the speed that we felt like he had, and may not always have shown.”
That speed is going to become incredibly useful while Maye continues to rely on his security blanket, Henry, while giving him another weapon to work with, who can create opportunities for himself and others.
We'll have to wait and see for that relationship to blossom, since the rookie is still working with QB Tommy DeVito at this point. But his impressive practices this week, particularly on Thursday when they were in pads, is proof that he should work seemlessly with Maye when the time comes.
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