Eli Raridon
Raridon is the Patriots' No. 2 tight end behind Hunter Henry, a rookie who has become a regular part of the passing game, though his target volume is small and varies a lot from week to week.
Role
ESPN's rookie report (about two days old) says he has played 40% of New England's offensive snaps through five weeks and is the No. 2 tight end behind Hunter Henry. His ESPN game log shows 1, 1, 1, 5 and 1 catches on 1, 1, 2, 5 and 3 targets in the games listed. The 10/18 line against the Jets was 1 catch on 3 targets for 11 yards. That log lists Sep 9 at Seattle, which looks like a date error, so I did not use that row. Competition for tight end work comes from Henry and fellow rookie Tanner Arkin, per the Boston Globe. Rookie Efton Chism and Mack Hollins, who has been dealing with a calf injury, are in the same target pool. Julian Hill is on season-ending IR and Austin Hooper left in free agency, which opened the snaps. A Musket Fire piece cited PFF as showing he lined up wide on 5 of his 23 pass snaps against Buffalo.
Hollins' calf injury and the open snaps left by Hill and Hooper give him a clear path. Local media such as Bedard on 98.5 The Sports Hub have argued he should be used more, including some of Hollins' snaps at receiver. He has been efficient: he caught all five of his targets against the Raiders, and he went into that game with a touchdown among his first three games' catches. His 6-foot-6 frame and his seam and contested-catch work in camp fit a big-receiver role with Drake Maye.
His volume is thin and uneven. He has 1 to 3 targets in four of his five listed games, and the five-catch game came in a 45-17 blowout. Henry remains the lead tight end. Chism and the receivers also take targets. His pre-draft scouting reports flagged blocking as something to work on. A thigh injury earlier this season is also on record, though he was off the report before the Raiders game.
Where analysts split
The open question is whether the Patriots will turn the Raiders game into a standing role by moving him to receiver-style alignments and giving him more targets. Or was it a blowout-driven spike on a roughly 40% snap share? I found commentary calling for a bigger role but no coach or beat-writer confirmation that it is coming. Nothing I found says he is being used as a regular wide alignment.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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