'We decided to pull the trigger there late' – Making sense of Patriots' most controversial draft decision
The New England Patriots decided to address two positions on special teams during the 2025 NFL Draft, one of which had people questioning if a long-time member of the franchise could be on the outs. Joe Cardona is currently the longest tenured player on the team, having been on the Patriots for nine seasons. So […]
The New England Patriots decided to address two positions on special teams during the 2025 NFL Draft, one of which had people questioning if a long-time member of the franchise could be on the outs.
Joe Cardona is currently the longest tenured player on the team, having been on the Patriots for nine seasons.
So when New England drafted Vanderbilt long snapper Julian Ashby in the seventh round, that brought up some questions. And Eliot Wolf was specifically asked if there's a question about Joe Cardona's long-term future with the team.
"Julian Ashby was a player that we liked. We felt like he was the best long snapper in the draft," Wolf responded. "Through some of the conversations that we had, we felt like he might not be someone that would be available post-draft.
"Again, wanting to add some competition to the roster, we decided to pull the trigger there late."
Ashby had a workout with the Patriots during the pre-draft process, and became the first long snapper selected by the franchise since they took Cardona in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
But, for the rookie, he's very excited about the opportunity to work with and learn from the two-time Super Bowl champion.
"We haven't met or interacted in the past, but definitely a guy who I've watched a lot of tape on who paved the way for snappers and has had a great career," Ashby explained. "I'm excited to meet, work with, learn from and try to help the football team however I can. When I get up there, that'll be the first time that we've met each other."
Meet the New England Patriots’ 2025 NFL Draft class: Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf add talented new players to get back on top
The draft is officially complete.
