New England Patriots
The 6-foot-6 Raridon had a standout high school basketball career before knee injuries set in.
Eli Raridon is a second-generation football player at Notre Dame. (AP Photo/Mark Stockwell)
The New England Patriots addressed another area of need in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, selecting Notre Dame’s Eli Reridon with the 95th pick on Friday night.
A one-year starter with the Fighting Irish, Raridon made 32 catches for 482 yards in 2025 at Notre Dame, finishing third on the team in both receptions and receiving yards.
Raridon brings some upside to a Patriots tight end room that needs new blood — especially with veteran Hunter Henry entering the final year of his contract.
Here are five things to know about New England’s new tight end:
Raridon’s baseline statistics at Notre Dame don’t exactly jump off the page — the tight end finished his collegiate career at South Bend with 623 receiving yards and just three total touchdowns in 40 games.
But with a prospect like Raridon, the Patriots are counting on the upside and athleticism of a tight end who can develop into an explosive pass-catcher and physical blocker.
The 6-foot-6, 245-pound Reridon tested very well in the lead-up to the 2026 NFL Draft — ranking in the 81st percentile in the 40-yard dash (4.62 seconds), 81st percentile in the vertical jump (36 inches), 88th percentile in the broad jump (10 feet, 3 inches), and 95th percentile with 10.75-inch hands, Per Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston.
Raridon’s speed and size could make him an intriguing deep threat for Drake May in time, as the Notre Dame tight end averaged 15.1 yards per catch during his senior season — ranking fourth among Power Five tight ends in yards per reception in 2025. Per East-West Shrine Bowl Director of Football Operations Eric Galko.
“[He’s] He’s a really good worker, with a lot of talent. “6-6, 245,” Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Elliot Wolf said of Reridon late Friday night. “It’s been incredibly well tested and again, just some untapped potential there with only one year of real play.” [time]”.
He has had injury problems in the past.
One of the reasons Raridon’s development at Notre Dame stalled in his first few seasons was rooted in some bad luck on the injury front.
Within less than a year, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee twice — while playing two different sports.
In December 2021, Raridon tore his ACL while playing basketball In his senior year at Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa. Only four months after this serious injury, he has already returned to running on the field, with the talented footballer He credits his quick recovery to a hamstring graft.
But Raridon’s freshman season with the Fighting Irish was cut short by a similar injury, as he re-torn the anterior cruciate ligament in the same knee during practice, after playing in just five games early in his collegiate career.
Raridon eventually returned midway through his sophomore season, catching five passes for 51 yards and a touchdown during the 2023 campaign.
Despite the misfortune, Wolf confirmed Friday night that New England has “no real concerns” about the condition of Reridon’s knee moving forward.
Reridon is a second-generation football player at Notre Dame, where his father, Scott Jr., played both offensive lineman and long snapper for the Fighting Irish from 2002 to 2005. During his tenure in South Bend, Scott Jr. played for both Tyrone Willingham and former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis — and blocked for Notre Dame standout QB Brady Quinn.
Eli Raridon was born in the spring of his father’s second season at Notre Dame.
Eli’s grandfather, Scott Sr., played college football at Nebraska from 1981-83. Before taking the strength and conditioning coach job at Notre Dame in the late 1980s -He served on Lou Holtz’s staff during the Fighting Irish’s national championship season in 1988.
He was a talented basketball player in high school.
Very similar to Drake MayRaridon was also a standout basketball player during his high school days.
“I’ve always loved playing hoops. I’ve played AAU ever since.” [I was] 11 or 12 years,” Reridon He said NFL reporter Jordan Schultz. “I didn’t have the best three-point shot, but I was really good at getting to the hoop, and as my body started to develop, I could start dunking on people.
“I didn’t really become the basketball player I was until my freshman and sophomore years — my skills were at an all-time high. I could handle the ball, I could shoot the rock a little bit. I feel like I could have played Division I somewhere.”
“But looking at it realistically, I wasn’t shooting 50 percent on 3-pointers. Six-foot-six, which is kind of short. I should be a point guard. Football was the way for me, and that was the best receiver.”
According to Dane Brugler of The athleteRaridon earned second-team all-state honors as a small forward, averaging 17.5 points per game.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Raridon said his basketball background helped him on the football field.
“Basketball was always a part of my life growing up,” Raridon said. “I feel like it really helped me control my body better, get forward and shoot the ball high, things like that.”
He models his game after a Pro Bowl tight end.
While speaking with reporters Friday night, Raridon said he modeled his game after San Francisco 49ers All-Pro tight end George Kittle.
“I looked up to George Kittle a lot,” Raridon said. “I just love the way he can do both very well. I love the way he blocks. I love his mentality on the play, and obviously he makes a great play in the passing game as well. And that’s the guy I’m trying to model my game after.”
Kittle’s body of work speaks for itself throughout his career in the Bay Area. But Kittle wasn’t exactly a consistent end during his collegiate career, as he caught 48 passes for 737 yards during his four seasons at Iowa before San Francisco selected him in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
The Patriots hope that Raridon follows a similar path as a talented tight end whose production flourished after jumping to the NFL ranks.
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