Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots made some investments into their tight end group this offseason, signing Julian Hill to a three-year free agency deal and selecting Eli Raridon in the third round of the NFL Draft. With the former suffering a season-ending injury during offseason workouts, however, the depth at the position has been tested.
Accordingly, the team brought in two free agent tight ends just before the start of training camp. One of them comes from just down the road.
Name: Jeremiah Franklin
Position: Tight end
Jersey number: 80
Age: 22
Measurements: 6’3 1/8”, 245 lbs, 10 1/4” hand size, 31” arm length, 75 7/8” wingspan, 4.85s 40-yard dash, 7.27s 3-cone drill, 4.57s short shuttle, 32 1/2” vertical jump, 9’5” broad jump, 15 bench press reps, 3.85 Relative Athletic Score
NFL: New England Patriots (2026-) | College: Boston College (2022-25)
A tight end and defensive end at Walkersville, MD, High School, Franklin received his first scholarship offer from Boston College in 2020. The three-star recruit later picked up more interest, but despite Liberty, Old Dominion and Yale among those also offering, he stayed true to his initial commitment.
Franklin saw consistent action as an Eagle from early on in his career. A part-time player as a freshman, he eventually finished with 30 career starts out of 44 in-game appearances. Along the way, he became one of the most productive tight ends in B.C. history: he finished with 93 receptions in four seasons, ranking fifth all-time at the position in the school’s annals. He took those catches for 1,010 yards and six touchdowns.
Despite his productivity, Franklin had a quiet start to his NFL career. He did participate in the Patriots’ rookie minicamp after going undrafted, but was not initially signed. It took him almost three more months before the team finally signed him to his first pro contract.
Strengths: Franklin offers decent height at the position and despite not being the most bulky of tight ends has proven himself a productive blocker both in the run and the pass game — a blocker who showed strides every year in college. He offers good core strength and a solid overall anchor in pass protection, while also having the burst to execute down blocks in the run game or get to his landmarks on zone runs. He also uses his big hands well to reel in catches as a target in the short and intermediate passing game; he dropped only 3.8% of his targets in college. He furthermore provides good versatility, having lined up in multiple spots.
Weaknesses: Standing at 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds with relatively short arms, Franklin lacks the desired frame or length to go up against NFL-level competition. He also does not have a particularly exciting athletic makeup. Outside of his burst, he offers a limited skillset in terms of foot speed: both his long speed and his quickness are average at best, which in turn might further limit how he...
