Is Patriots' LB Khalil Jacobs Dynasty IDP's Best-Kept Secret Right Now?

Khalil Jacobs. The OTHER Missouri linebacker. I saw the 4.77 at 227 pounds and thought this might not get you a shot in the NFL. The testing, which was average, doesn’t tell you who New England’s staff is quietly falling for in camp. It definitely doesn’t tell you what the Patriots’ linebacker room looks like 14 months from now. Look at that instead, and the testing numbers on Khalil Jacobs change fast.

Robert Spillane could be out after 2026. His dead cap hit is $3M, manageable, not the kind of number that stops a rebuilding front office from moving on. His PFF grades were still solid, and if he plays well in 2026, I don’t see them moving on.

Christian Elliss hits free agency at the end of this season. So do Chad Muma and K.J. Britt. Four names currently ahead of or around Jacobs on the depth chart. By the start of the 2027 league year, New England could decide not run them back.

It’s tough to play any type of defense without the linebacker position. Somebody on this roster inherits real snaps, whether they draft an LB or add one or two in free agency.

Unlike Jacobs’ teammate, Josiah Trotter, Jacobs doesn’t have any draft capital, but has already climbed the depth chart once this summer thanks to a good camp. Mike Reiss reported him working ahead of Britt on punt protection in early August. He’s winning reps from players with NFL games on their résumé, a full year before the room even opens up around him.

Jacobs played 50 snaps in Week 1, while Britt played 14 snaps and Muma played 27. I charted Jacobs; covering his run fits, coverage, and pass rush against the Colts. The picture is consistent enough to call it a potential signal. Enough to Jacobs on your dynasty radar.

Instincts seem to be the trait. Across every rep, run, pass, blitz, he rarely bit a single false key. Jet motion, hard counts, extended pre-snap disguise. I noticed nothing really moved from his landmark before the snap. That matters for a rookie; false steps at the second level are the fastest way to get exposed in this league.

Coverage is well above average for an undrafted LB. He matched a tight end into the flat on a red-zone snap and passed him off underneath without a hiccup. On a checkdown rep against Indy, he broke on the throw and closed fifteen-plus yards to be the first body at the catch point. Zone drops under pressure showed the same discipline: eyes stayed controlled, no premature peek into the backfield.

Finishing is where the profile still needs work. Twice now, once getting hooked by a pulling guard, once getting tied up by a climbing lineman on a scramble, he’s shown he doesn’t yet have a fast release once a blocker wins the rep. On explosive plays specifically, a QB scramble and a broken-open running back, his pursuit angle held up but his recovery burst didn’t; he trailed the play instead of threatening it. Pass rush tells the same story. He was unblocked or lightly touched on four of five rush snaps I charted, closed distance well every time; finishing with a hurry.

I thought this was a good interior run from Jacobs (#59) that ends in a stacked gang-tackle right at the pile:

Loved this run fit from Jacobs. Good change of direction and meets the ball carrier in the gap:

Another good tackle from Jacobs. Dismisses the block and gets the tackle:

Jacobs chases down the receiver:

Jacobs flows past the first block and stabs at the TE. Good hand usage:

Jacobs gets a good jump off the snap and is able to beat the blocker to the ball carrier:

Jacobs shows good chase-down speed. He looks faster than his 4.77 suggets:

Jacobs makes a solid, physical tackle:

Jacobs can get physical with TEs:

Here’s the downside case. If the disengagement issue doesn’t improve, he tops out as a rotational subpackage guy who covers backs and tight ends well but never wins a full-time role, even in an open competition. That’s a real outcome; a UDFA with a 4.77 isn’t a lock to start anywhere.

But the floor is a special-teams core player with a real path to LB2/LB3 snaps on a roster that could lose 3/4ths of its linebacker room within 14 months. The traits that translate first at this level, instincts, eye discipline, coverage technique, are exactly what Jacobs already has. Finishing burst is coachable in a way processing speed usually isn’t; strength programs and technique reps close that gap more often than they manufacture it from nothing.

2026 IDP rookie drafts have probably come and gone and he’s probably sitting on your waiver wire, just waiting to be added. In IDP dynasty formats that roster 35+players or start 4+ linebackers, I think Jacobs is a priority stash right now, before the 2027 opportunity gets priced in. In shallower leagues, he’s a top-five waiver add the moment Spillane, Elliss, or any name ahead of him actually walks. For redraft, it’s going to take a few injuries for him to have an relevance.

Don’t wait for the snap counts to prove it out publicly. By then the gap’s closed and everyone else is bidding too.