What Eli Raridon means for Patriots' TE depth chart with Hunter Henry originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The New England Patriots let Austin Hooper go this offseason, and although they signed Julian Hill to the TE depth chart, it felt like more might be coming.

The additional move came in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft when they drafted Eli Raridon, the talented tight end out of Notre Dame.

Now, Raridon will have a chance to make his case for playing time with the Pats.

In reality, there won't be a ton standing in the way of Raridon.

Hunter Henry remains in New England, and he'll remain the TE1, a trusty target for Drake Maye as the young QB enters his third season in the NFL.

But behind Henry, Hill is mostly a blocker. He never had a big receiving role with the Miami Dolphins, and that's unlikely to change now.

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Raridon will have to continue to grow as an all-around player, but he can reel in passes, and his role could come to resemble some of what Hooper did a year ago in being a complementary piece to Henry.

The exciting part about Raridon is that if he shows enough promise as a secondary TE with Henry, he can eventually grow into the guy atop the depth chart.

That doesn't need to happen right away. Henry appears to be a productive player still for at least a little while longer.

New England has started thinking ahead, though, and Raridon has enough talent both to contribute now and to grow into a bigger role down the road.

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