FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Raridon report: The Patriots contributed to making NFL history when they selected Notre Dame's Eli Raridon in the third round, as Raridon was one of a record 17 tight ends picked within the first five rounds in the common draft era (since 1967).
In doing so, they are banking on the projection that Raridon -- who was a one-year starter with 48 career receptions and three touchdowns -- continues to ascend.
Notre Dame offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Mike Denbrock, who has been a football coach for four-plus decades, is among those who like the chances of that happening and puts the 22-year-old Raridon in rare company.
"Eli has been conducting himself, for a long period of time, with the type of attitude and structure and understanding of living a professional life as anybody I've ever been around," Denbrock, 62, told ESPN this week. "That's going to pay big dividends going to the next step."
Raridon's maturity and athletic gifts, including his height (6-foot-6, 245 pounds), speed (4.62 in the 40-yard dash), big hands (10¾ inches) and above average wingspan (80 inches), are among the reasons the Patriots had him as the top-rated player on their board when it was time to pick at No. 95.
Raridon was the ninth tight end selected overall, but sources say the Patriots had him ranked considerably higher. Executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf referred to Raridon as a "tremendous athlete" while noting "some untapped potential there with only one year of real playing" as scouts saw him "coming into his own through the season."
Denbrock saw it similarly behind the scenes at Notre Dame, which has earned a reputation for producing NFL-caliber players at the position, in part because every primary starting tight end since Anthony Fasano in 2004 has been drafted.
"He just continued to get better and better and better. I think it's something that's been building and leads me to believe his best football is ahead of him, which is exciting," Denbrock said.
"It was really his first opportunity to be the featured guy while he was here at Notre Dame. It was his time to kind of take on the responsibility of that room from a leadership standpoint. Then also from backing it up with an example of the way to play the game at the tight end position in the Notre Dame tradition."
Denbrock observed Raridon growing more comfortable in a leadership role as the season progressed, and because he was most often where he was supposed to be on passing plays, he "really became kind of our young starting quarterback's best friend as the season went along [because] he knew he was someone he could count on."
In the perfect football world for New England, Raridon will initially have the luxury of easing into the mix behind 10-year veteran Hunter Henry and free agent signee Julian Hill, whose forte is a relentless, physical blocker.
Of Raridon's playing style, Wolf said he is an "all-around guy -- probably more of a pass catcher first, but a willing blocker."
Meanwhile, Denbrock said of the players he's coached, he views Raridon as a cross between former Notre Dame tight ends Kyle Rudolph and Tyler Eifert.
Rudolph was "big, strong, physical, imposing as a receiver and good in the run game", while Eifert was "a run-and-catch guy who could hold his own as a run blocker, but really provided explosiveness to the Bengals offense as a guy that could go get the football."
A couple things to note about Raridon:
He overcame a torn right ACL twice, once as a senior in high school and again in his first season at Notre Dame.
The Des Moines, Iowa native has notable football bloodlines. His father, Scott Jr., was an offensive lineman and long-snapper at Notre Dame from 2002-2005, and his grandfather Scott Sr. was a strength coach for the Fighting Irish under Lou Holtz.
Raridon married his high school girlfriend, Anna, in 2025.
"It starts with who he is as a person and his family," Denbrock said of Raridon's maturity. "When I first met him [in 2024], he already operated like a professional. He was very focused on what he wanted to get accomplished and had a plan to make it happen."
2. Vrabel at practice: At one point in Saturday's rookie minicamp practice, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel led a punt protection drill and was giving 1-on-1 instruction to linebacker Namdi Obiazor, the sixth-round pick from TCU. Later, he was seen tutoring offensive tackle Dametrious Crownover, the sixth-round pick from Texas A&M.
Vrabel's vocal, hands-on coaching style was a hot topic among rookies afterwards.
"That's great to have a coach who is involved," Obiazor said. "Sometimes they can kind of be in the back and let the position coaches kind of do their thing, but I definitely love how Coach Vrabel is involved with practice."
Added Crownover: "I've learned a lot from him already, just from being here the last two days. What it takes to play offensive line at the elite level. He's not going to let you slack off and make sure he's getting the best out of you."
At Patriots rookie minicamp, Mike Vrabel leads a punt-protection drill which includes sixth-round pick Namdi Obiazor (48) of TCU - and you can see/hear how hands-on/verbal Vrabel is at a practice. pic.twitter.com/Uz55MCAmhA
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) May 9, 2026
3. Morton makes impression: Quarterback Behren Morton, the seventh-round pick from Texas Tech who projects as QB3 behind Drake Maye and Tommy DeVito, produced one of the headlines from Saturday's rookie minicamp practice by completing 11 passes in 11 attempts in the lone 11-on-11 passing drill.
The practice was mostly about basics, which for Morton meant getting the play called in the huddle, ensuring everyone was aligned correctly, identifying the middle linebacker to set the pass protection, strong cadence, and then getting the ball out on time and delivering accurately.
Arguably his best throw was an anticipatory delivery to undrafted free agent receiver Kyle Dixon (Culver-Stockton) on an in-breaking route about 20 yards downfield.
Morton, who managed right throwing shoulder and right leg injuries in college, said: "Body's great. This is the healthiest I've been in a really long time. Shoulder hasn't been this good since high school."
4. Lomu leftover: Offensive tackle Caleb Lomu was part of the annual ceremonial photo for the first-round pick on Thursday, sharing stories with reporters on his unique plane ride to New England, his wife Kitty's draft-night premonition, and viral dance.
Lomu lined up at left tackle at Saturday's rookie minicamp practice. The expectation is that he will initially be a top backup to Will Campbell (left) and Morgan Moses (right), even though most of his playing experience has been on the left side.
"I [view] myself as a tackle in general -- left or right side. I just happened to play left in college and that's what I got comfortable to, playing those three years at left tackle at Utah," he said. "My first year there I was kind of a swing tackle. I feel comfortable at left but also working at right these last couple months and feel just as good on the right side as well. So either tackle position I'm happy to play and feel comfortable playing."
5. Crownover's week: Crownover plans to return home to Texas later this week to join his wife Makenzie, who is scheduled to deliver the couple's son on Thursday. A super-sized prospect at 6-foot-7 and 318 pounds with an 86-inch wingspan, Crownover said the couple is expecting the baby to weigh between eight and nine pounds based on recent scans, and the plan is to have the expanding family be together in New England by June.
6. Britt's role: Linebacker K.J. Britt's modest one-year, $1.4 million base value contract contributed to him mostly flying under the radar among the Patriots' pricier free agent additions this offseason. But the team is relying on him to help fill the top backup and special-teams void created by Jack Gibbens' departure to Arizona (two years, $7.5 million base value).
Along those lines, the way the 26-year-old Britt described himself to reporters last week sounded Gibbens-esque.
"I might not be the fastest, I might not be the strongest, but I can play football. Get guys lined up, communication, knowing what it takes -- it's a team game, 11 guys, everyone rallying. The communication part, knowing where to be every play, that helps you win games."
7. Gilliam's view: In his first six NFL seasons with the Bills, fullback Reggie Gilliam became familiar with Gillette Stadium, the Patriots' home field. Or so he thought. Since signing a three-year, $10.8 million base value deal in New England, Gilliam now has a new perspective.
"Coming in as a visiting team, you [arrive] through this neighborhood [behind the stadium]. You just feel like you're in the middle of nowhere," he said. "I had no idea One Patriot Place was over here; you have the statue of Tom Brady, all these restaurants. So I'm coming to work the first day and I'm like, 'Whoa. Where did all this come from?'"
8. Go West?: The NFL can't grant every team's request when it comes to scheduling, but clubs can ask for considerations such as pairing cross-country road games together, which would allow a team to spend a week on the road instead of making multiple long trips.
This bears watching when the Patriots' 2026 schedule is released on Thursday: Did the NFL put road games against the Seahawks and Chargers in consecutive weeks?
9. Did You Know, Part I: Of the Patriots' 14 different opponents in 2026, the franchise has never had a season-opening game with five of them -- Bears, Jaguars, Lions, Seahawks and Vikings. The team's most frequent season-opening opponent has been the Dolphins (11 times).
10. Did You Know, Part II: Tight ends combined for 2,870 receptions league-wide last season, the most by that position group in NFL history. Furthermore, there were 1,845 plays run league-wide with three or more tight ends on the field, which is the most in the data ESPN Research has tracked since 2007.