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BREAKING: Patriots 2025 draft profile: Luke Lachey knows how to get his hands dirty

Posted on March 29, 2025 - 12:04 pm by

Lachey projects as a late-round selection in this year’s draft.

With Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper both back in 2025, the New England Patriots tight end position is in some able hands. However, there are questions about both the depth behind them and the long-term outlook at the position.

If the Patriots want to address both, they can look at what is considered a deep draft at tight end. One of the later-round options to keep an eye on is Luke Lachey out of Iowa.

Hard facts

Name: Luke Lachey

Position: Tight end

School: Iowa

Opening day age: 24 (6/29/2001)

Measurements: 6’5 3/4”, 251 lbs, 78 3/8” wingspan, 32 1/8” arm length, 10” hand size, 35.0” vertical jump, 10’0” broad jump, 4.47s short shuttle, 7.18s 3-cone drill, 8.72 Relative Athletic Score

Experience

Career statistics: 43 games (24 starts) | 1,616 offensive snaps, 84 special teams snaps | 111 targets, 74 catches (66.7%), 877 yards, 4 TDs | 3 drops (2.7%), 1 fumble

Accolades: Honorable mention All-Big Ten (2024), Academic All-Big Ten (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)

A four-year letterman as a wide receiver, tight end and defensive back at Grandview Heights High School in his Ohio hometown, Lachey was a three-star recruit entering the college ranks. The son of former first-round draft pick Jim Lachey eventually ended up at Iowa, where he spent five seasons and appeared in 43 games with 24 starts.

Lachey started off as a redshirt freshman before settling into a blocking tight end role from Year 2 on. His best statistical season came in 2022, when he had 28 receptions for 382 yards and 4 touchdowns. He likely would have bested those numbers the following year had an ankle injury not limited him to three games that season. He was back on the field in 2024, but finished with a rather pedestrian 28-231-0 stat-line.

Lachey entered the NFL Draft after that season, and was invited to both the Scouting Combine and the East-West Shrine Bowl.

Draft profile

Expected round: Day 3 | Consensus big board: No. 206 | Patriots meeting: N/A

Strengths: Even though he stands to add some bulk, Lachey is a well-built player at just under 6-foot-6, a 78-inch wingspan and 10-inch hands. He knows how to use his physical attributes as both a receiver and a blocker. He is a sure-handed player with a big catch radius, who offers the vertical ability to shield off or out-leap defenders in contested catch situations.

Iowa used him comparatively sparingly in that capacity, though, and instead opted to rely on him as a blocker. In that department, Lachey showed that he knows how to get his fairly big hands dirty: he is able to quickly engage opposing defenders in the run game, and moves well to get off his assignments and into open space; he is a factor when blocking on the move and at the second level, and keeps his technique consistent throughout the process.

In addition, Lachey checks the off-field boxes: he is a four-time Academic All-Big Ten who was named a permanent team captain in his final two years in school.

Weaknesses: Lachey will be 24 at the start of the season, creating questions about his developmental ceiling. Besides his age and underwhelming production as a pass catcher, a lack of straight-line speed and acceleration is another concern. His ability to reach his vertical landmarks on time is not a given, especially considering that he has not shown that he can apply his physicality as a blocker in the passing game.

As a result, he is not consistently shaking free from defenders covering him down the field. Making matters worse is that he also is not the most nimble-footed athlete in and out of his breaks, leading to some awkward-looking routes. He did have flashes as a receiver in college and has some skills to build around, but he is a project and also was primarily used differently in college: almost 60 percent of his snaps saw him as a blocker.

Patriots preview

What would be his role? Based on his college usage and performance, Lachey projects as a rotational Y-tight end whose value lies primarily as an in-line blocker in the running game and a part-time pass protector; as noted above, he is a player willing to get the job done even if it is not a luxurious one. He could take the field in select passing situations, though, in particular as a red zone or short yardage target.

What is his growth potential? Lachey is a solid overall athlete, even though he seemingly lacks the elite tools to become one of the blue chip players at the tight end position. His ceiling might be capped to a degree, but he can still become a factor as a blocker and situational receiving threat. If developed patiently, he should become more than the relative one-trick pony he was in college.

Does he have positional versatility? Even though he was moved around a bit — into the slot, split out wide, and in the backfield — Lachey’s positional versatility at Iowa was limited. He lined up in-line on more than 80 percent of his career offensive snaps. In addition, he saw only limited action in the kicking game.

Why the Patriots? Lachey has some similarities to Patriots legend Rob Gronkowski entering the NFL — athletic testing scores, build, injury history — which in itself might make him worthy of a flier on Day 3. If the Patriots feel comfortable with his developmental status as a contributor in the passing game, they could add him in hopes of installing him as a TE3 and developing him into a more well-rounded player.

Why not the Patriots? With Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper both on the wrong side of 30, New England needs to think long-term at tight end. That process might lead to the team being more interested in players with superior developmental upside particularly in the receiving game. If so, there are other options on Day 2 or Day 3 to consider.

One-sentence verdict: Lachey is a plus-blocker who offers the right mindset and build and combines it with some untapped potential as a receiver.