The New England Patriots draft history in the years before 2025 can be categorized as poor with a few notable exceptions. One was 2024's first round pick, Drake Maye. The rest of that draft was a disaster.
Enter Mike Vrabel in 2025, and the entire personnel landscape changed - for the better. Yet, one area that has been an ongoing surprise has been signing undrafted free agents (UDFAs) who've performed. Recently, another has emerged from nowhere and is making waves.
Si.com's Ethan Hurwitz has pointed out a surprising UDFA who, after a tryout, was added to the Patriots' 90-man roster. It's edge, Xavier Holmes from James Madison, and he's getting rave reviews from the Patriots' coaching staff.
UDFA Xavier Holmes put himself on the map at his Patriots' tryout
The Patriots' history shows that UDFAs are one area of personnel they can mine very effectively, indeed. Notable are Super Bowl heroes kicker Adam Vinatieri and cornerback Malcolm Butler, longtime starting center David Andrews, and solid wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, among others.
This offseason, the Patriots gave big contracts to two UDFAs, cornerback Channing Canada and running back Myles Montgomery. And now Holmes is getting noticed, as reported by Hurwitz.
"The New England Patriots had 17 players attend rookie minicamp this year on a tryout basis, all of them working to earn a contract on the 90-man roster. Only two players, Hawaii safety Peter Manuma and James Madison edge rusher Xavier Holmes, were able to sign with the Patriots after the three-day tryout. Why did the Patriots end up signing these players? According to head coach Mike Vrabel, Holmes was one of the players that they felt like was undervalued in the draft process this past year."
Hurwitz quoted Vrabel talking about Holmes.
"X was a productive college player. There’s a lot of reasons guys fall through the draft or maybe don’t sign as a free agent. He came here. You’re just looking for little things. Are they coachable? They make a mistake, and can they correct it? You look at effort, you look at skill set."
You get the head coach's attention, and good things can happen. Yet someone also scouted Holmes, who had a nice 2025 season at James Madison. He racked up 30 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 6.0 sacks, four pass breakups, an interception, a fumble recovery, and a blocked kick.
Those are a playmaker's number.
UDFAs will always be long shots to make an NFL roster. Yet, in 2025, the Patriots signed UDFA receiver Efton Chism III and edge Elijah Ponder, both of whom made the roster and contributed. Perhaps Xavier Holmes will be a 2026 UDFA who does the same.
While the odds are not in his favor, in Foxborough, as the Patriots have proven time and time again, UDFAs who play well always have a chance.
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