Eli Raridon

Raridon tore the ACL in his right knee twice — once playing high school basketball in 2021 and again in a Notre Dame practice in 2022. The Patriots publicly cleared him with 'no real concerns,' and his hamstring-graft procedure enabled faster-than-typical recovery, but repeated trauma to the same knee warrants dynasty managers monitoring early preseason reports closely.

The June 1, 2026 A.J. Brown trade installs a true alpha WR1 atop the passing tree alongside Romeo Doubs, Kayshon Boutte and Kyle Williams, compressing the target pool a developing TE2 can realistically claim in 2026.

Raridon was a one-year starter at Notre Dame, logging 32 catches for 482 yards in 2025. Production is modest for a Day 2 pick, reflecting injury-interrupted development and Notre Dame's run-heavy scheme more than a ceiling concern, but he arrives with minimal sustained high-volume tape.

Behind a healthy Hunter Henry, Raridon is a near-zero for 2026 fantasy production; dynasty payoff is entirely 2027+ and contingent on the depth chart opening as projected.

Hunter Henry (31) is in a contract year through 2026 and is broadly projected to depart in free agency, handing Raridon a direct TE1 audition as soon as 2026 preseason and a likely starter role from 2027 onward in a QB-ascending situation.

OC Josh McDaniels deploys 12 personnel on roughly 30% of snaps and routes the Y tight end on seam-or-crosser option combinations — a role Raridon's hybrid in-line/receiving skillset fits precisely — creating meaningful snap opportunities even in Henry's final year.

Julian Hill — signed 3yr/$15M in March as the blocking TE — was placed on IR (season over) after the A.J. Brown trade, vaulting Raridon to the de facto TE2 and accelerating his developmental reps in 2026.

Young TE (22) — still in value appreciation phase