Pats Pulpit
Long snappers getting selected in the NFL Draft is a rarity: over the last decade, only seven players at the position heard their names called. One of those is Julian Ashby, who the New England Patriots brought aboard on the third day of last year’s draft.
For some, that might have been the last time they actually heard somebody talk about Ashby — a definitive positive given the position he plays. That said, let’s break the silence and talk about the soon-to-be 24-year-old.
Name: Julian Ashby
Position: Long snapper
Jersey number: 47
Opening day age: 24 (7/8/2002)
Measurements: 6’1 1/8”, 231 lbs, 10 1/8” hand size, 32 3/8” arm length, 4.94s 40-yard dash, 30” vertical jump, 9’7” broad jump, 15 bench press reps, 8.53 Relative Athletic Score
NFL: New England Patriots (2025-) | College: Furman (2020-23), Vanderbilt (2024)
A multi-sport athlete at Parkview High School in Lilburn, GA, Ashby originally started out as a quarterback before moving to long snapper. He went unrated as a college recruit but nonetheless found a home at Furman, where he spent four years and appeared in 44 games. A first-team FCS All-American in 2023, he decided to prolong his college career and transfer to Vanderbilt in 2024.
Ashby added 13 more games to his résumé during his lone year with the Commodores, and ended up hearing his name called in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Now a member of the Patriots, he appeared in all 21 of the team’s combined regular season and playoff games as a rookie.
Strengths: Ashby is a good athlete at the long snapper position. His big hands give him a good grip of the football, while he also has the acceleration and straight-line speed to get up the field on punt coverage. He also has the size to successfully transition from snapper to blocker and to execute tackles; he neither comes in too hot when getting near the ball carrier nor does he abandon his technique when push comes to shove. As for his snaps, they come with the proper spin and are fairly accurate; he had no obvious bad snaps as a rookie in 2025.
Weaknesses: Ashby struggled with penalties in 2025 and did not appear to always be on the same page as the rest of the Patriots’ special teams crew. While he does have fairly large hands, he is not the biggest player overall and can get overpowered at the point of attack. His tackling success in 2025 also might not be reflective of his capabilities in this area considering that he missed at least one tackle in three of his four active seasons and 21% of his takedown attempts overall.
Stats: 21 games (0 starts) | 180 special teams snaps (32.8%) | 4 special teams tackles | 3 penalties (incl. 0 declined/offsetting)
Season recap: The Patriots became the first and only team to select a long snapper in the 2025 NFL...
