The New England Patriots have 91 players on their current roster, and 24 of them are listed at 300 pounds or more. Out of those 24, seven are playing along the defensive line. And of those seven, one stands out as the heaviest defender on the team: undrafted rookie Travis Shaw.
His size is his defining attribute heading into his first NFL training camp, and it could be why he might be a dark horse candidate to end up on the 53-man team come the regular season.
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Hard facts
Name: Travis Shaw
Position: Defensive tackle/Interior defensive line
Jersey number: 62
Opening day age: 22 (12/1/2003)
Measurements: 6’5”, 335 lbs, 9 3/8” hand size, 33 1/8” arm length, 80” wingspan, 5.28s 40-yard dash, 8.15s 33-cone drill, 5.08s short shuttle, 26 1/2” vertical jump, 8’3” broad jump, 3.19 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2026-) | College: North Carolina (2022-24), Texas (2025)
A five-star recruit and top-five high school player in the nation, Shaw received a ton of interest coming out of Grimsley High in Greensboro, NC. Even though more than a dozen scholarship offers came his way including from high-profile schools like Alabama, Clemson and USC, he opted to stay home and ultimately committed to play college football at North Carolina.
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Shaw spent three years with the Tar Heels, playing 37 games with no starts and registering 55 tackles as well as a pair of fumble recoveries. Toward the tail end of his junior campaign (i.e. before ex-Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s arrival), however, he entered the transfer portal and moved to Texas as a four-star prospect at the time. In one season as a Longhorn, he added 13 more games and his first career start to his résumé.
Despite his former five-star status and lofty projections at the start of his college career, Shaw went unselected in the 2026 NFL Draft. He only joined the Patriots as a free agent following a successful rookie minicamp workout.
Scouting report
Strengths: Checking in at 6-foot-5 and 335 pounds, Shaw is a massive human being capable of commanding double teams at the line of scrimmage and playing gap control in a two-gap scheme. He uses his big arms to create a powerful initial punch and has the reach to drag ball carriers down even while engaged. He plays with a firm anchor as a run defender and when left on an island is capable of collapsing the pocket up the middle in pass rush situations. Despite his size, he is fairly light on his feet and can move well laterally and as a pursuit player.
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Weaknesses: Shaw has failed to live up to the hype he received coming out of high school, in parts because he never took the next step as a pass rusher: he registered only eight pressures on 402 pass rush snaps in college (2.0%) and has not a single sack to his name. His pass rush moves as a general are rudimentary, and he relies on power over finesse. He also struggles to play with consistent pad level and balance, and does not have the burst to regularly dictate reps from the get-go. At his weight, conditioning also is a question mark.
2025 review
Stats: 13 games (1 start) | 184 defensive snaps, 1 special teams snap | 13 tackles, 0 missed tackles, 1 TFL | 1 QB pressure (1 hurry) | 0 penalties
Season recap: When Shaw arrived at North Carolina, there was talk about him potentially becoming a future first-round pick in the NFL Draft. Three mediocre seasons later, he left the school with little fanfare and through the transfer portal: he announced his decision to leave ahead of his final game as a Tar Heel and in early January 2025 enrolled at Texas.
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The change in environment did not bring a major change in fortune or role. Shaw continued to play a part-time role with the Longhorns, finishing his senior season as their fifth interior lineman in terms of snaps. His usage was limited, and so was his impact on the field: he made no big plays and as an early-down run stuffer was virtually non-existent in the pass rush department (as evidenced by his one-hurry output); he also went tackle-less in six of 13 games.
So, was his season really as disappointing as the numbers might suggest? Given his first three collegiate campaigns, his one year in Austin was no true aberration. If one considers his former five-star status, however, it is clear he never reached his potential regardless of the program he played for.
2026 preview
Position: Nose tackle/1-technique defensive tackle | Ability: Camp body/Practice squad candidate | Contract: Signed through 2028 (2029 RFA)
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What will be his role? With Khyiris Tonga departing for Kansas City in free agency, the Patriots have an opening at their nose tackle position. Based on his size and college usage, Shaw looks like a potential candidate to fill that role. The rookie, after all, is a big-bodied control player at the line of scrimmage best suited to play on early downs and in select short-yardage situations.
What is his growth potential? Shaw was a slow-developing player throughout college and there is little to suggest that he will suddenly make a major jump now that he has entered the NFL. Sure, his size is rare, but with a limited technical setup and marginal athleticism it can only take you so far against pro-level competition. As a result, the best-case outlook at this point would be a Khyiris Tonga-like role as a starting nose tackle.
Does he have positional versatility? While he did play multiple techniques along the defensive line, Shaw overall is not a particularly versatile player. That is not per se a disqualifier, but it does limit what he can do and how he can be used.
What is his salary cap situation? The Patriots added Shaw on a three-year UDFA contract that comes with a $885,000 base salary in 2026. With that number not high enough to qualify for Top 51 status and no guarantees embedded into the pact, he currently has a net impact of $0 on New England’s cap. That will change in case he makes the roster or practice squad out of training camp, though.
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How safe is his roster spot? Shaw offers some intriguing attributes but at the end of the day is still an undrafted free agent and bottom-of-the-roster player. What does help his case, though, is the fact that he offers a unique profile among the Patriots’ nine current interior linemen and that only three roster spots currently seem occupied at the position.
Summary: The Khyiris Tonga comparison will follow Shaw throughout this rookie training camp and preseason, and for good reason: physically, he is the closest thing the Patriots have to their former starting nose tackle. He is still facing an uphill climb to make the 53-man roster, but it would not be a surprise if he saw quality reps throughout the summer and eventually pushed for a spot on the team or, more realistically, practice squad.
What do you think about Travis Shaw heading into the 2026 season? Will he make an impact this summer? Or will he be quiet? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
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