FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Jacas report: When considering what the Patriots can expect from edge defender Gabe Jacas, their second-round pick from University of Illinois, college coach Aaron Henry shares a story from the first time he met him.
Henry was on a recruiting visit to Fort Pierce Central High School (Florida). He had liked Jacas' football film and estimated him to be about 6 feet tall based on that, so the initial introduction took him by surprise.
"He walks around the corner, has on a muscle shirt tank top, and I couldn't call our head coach fast enough to say, 'We need to get everyone on a plane here immediately!'" said Henry, who at the time was Illinois defensive backs coach and would later become defensive coordinator.
"He was every bit of 6-3 and probably 235-240 [pounds] at the time. Rocked up, and... baby-faced."
Henry visited a wrestling practice later in the day.
"It was like Bikram yoga -- a little-bitty room, blazing hot, 16 different wrestlers on his high school team and for three hours, he wrestled his brother, coach and a teammate. Nonstop. Like 2-on-1 for three hours. It was insane," Henry said. "I knew at that moment, this kid is a little bit different."
Henry was thrilled when Jacas (pronounced ACK-iss) later flipped his commitment from Tulane to Illinois. And because of what Henry saw that first day, few were surprised to see how Jacas' collegiate career (2022-25) unfolded -- 50 games played, 183 tackles, 27 sacks and seven forced fumbles.
"I literally knew the first two weeks, he was going to be an NFL player. There was no doubt in my mind," Illinois head coach Bret Bielema said this week.
Jacas was drafted in the second round (No. 55 overall) of the 2026 NFL draft. James Black/Icon Sportswire Jacas' backstory and production appealed to the Patriots, who hoped to come out of the 2026 NFL draft with a high-end edge prospect to slot behind veteran starters Dre'Mont Jones and Harold Landry III. But there was doubt Jacas would last to the 63rd pick, which was the team's next selection after landing Utah offensive tackle Caleb Lomu in the first round (No. 28).
So the Patriots traded fourth- and sixth-round picks to the Los Angeles Chargers to move from No. 63 to No. 55 for Jacas.
"The play style is what we're all about," Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said. "Toughness, determination, grit. He's super physical."