New England PatriotsOur read
Written Oct 17, from his facts through last season
Latu has zero targets through four played weeks of 2026. He sat out week 1 of 2026, then played in weeks 2, 3, 4 and 5 without a single catch, carry or point. We set him at 16 points for the season, 1.3 a game over the 12 games we expected him to be out there, and he is under that pace with nothing on the stat line to build from. When a tight end gets no looks for a full month, the problem is the role, not the timing.
The role is fourth on New England's depth chart, behind Hunter Henry, Eli Raridon and Tanner Arkin. Last season he played 11.2% of New England's offensive snaps, TE123 among 137 qualifying tight ends, and held 0.0% of the team's targets. In the stretch of weeks 2 to 5 of 2025 we charted closely, he never crossed 19% of the snaps and never saw a ball. Even the move from PHI to NE changed nothing, and Henry was still taking 18% of the targets in this offense a year ago. McDaniels and Vrabel are both back, so there is no scheme change to hope for either.
Give him this much: he is healthy, with no injury designation since before week 1 of 2026, and the weeks he sat in 2025 were healthy scratches rather than medical ones. But being on the field and never being used costs him all the same. He is not worth a roster spot in week 6 of 2026. Cut him for a tight end with a path to catches, and only look back if someone ahead of him goes down.