Despite suffering two ACL tears - on the same knee - and having limited production at Notre Dame, tight end Eli Raridon’s physical gifts and solid frame earned him a phone call from the Patriots on Friday night, as they selected him with their only third-round pick, #95 overall.
“I did a (top) 30 visit with them a few weeks ago, and had been in contact with a couple of guys, and knew it was a very real possibility for me,” he told us. “I absolutely loved when I visited there, loved the coaching staff, loved the people running the organization, and just so happy to have the opportunity.”
Raridon stands at 6’6” and weighed 245 pounds at the combine and packed on another five pounds by the Fighting Irish’s pro day. He ran a 4.6 40 and has good lower-body explosion, as evident by both his vertical jump (36”) and broad jump (10’3”). That didn’t translate into a ton of receptions - Raridon had just 48 career catches and made 15 stars - but his role did grow during his time in South Bend, and he settled in as their ‘Y’ tight end.
“Tremendous athlete,” gushed Eliot Wolf. “You know, one year player, has overcome some serious injuries there at Notre Dame to really kind of find his own this year. You can see him sort of, again, coming into his own as we went through the season. You could just see his confidence growing and growing throughout the year.
“Kind of an all-around guy, probably more of a pass catcher first, but willing blocker. Like I said about all these rookies, he’s gonna have to get stronger. But a really, really good worker. Has a lot of talent.”
“I feel like a good way to describe me is that I'm versatile,” Raridon said when asked about his play style. “I can do both things in the passing and blocking game. I can make explosive plays with the ball in my hands, and also dominate defenders in the run game as well.”
For those who were following along during the pre-draft process, when I did my tight end preview, initially, Raridon didn’t get much buzz from the folks I lean on across the league. But after listing him in the ‘Others of note’ category, the feedback came in fast and furious.
An assistant coach I know well strongly disagreed with his placement, texting, “At worst, he’s the third-best tight end in the class,” then added, “If you can’t find a way to make this kid part of your offense and get more out of him, you shouldn’t be coaching offense.”
Another thought, based strictly on his athleticism and the flashes he showed during his final season, is that Raridon wouldn’t make it to day three. He was right. I do know that a couple of teams were concerned about the injury history, so I asked Wolf specifically about the knee. He said the Pats medical staff checked him at the combine and again on his visit, and no red flags were raised.
“My body feels amazing,” Raridon said. “I’m ready to get to work.”