Patriots in tight spot
Another pick at position likely
INDIANAPOLIS — Whether or not Rob Gronkowski returns next season, the Patriots are likely to draft a tight end.
Why? Bill Belichick has a soft spot for the position. He’s selected a dozen tight ends during his time in Foxboro.
Moreover, it’s hard to believe Dwayne Allen and Martellus Bennett are both going to be around, even if they are technically still under contract.
Let’s just say there’s not enough bang for the buck. They’re making too much money. Maybe the Pats take a flyer on free agent Tyler Eifert. He’s coming off back surgery and needs to have a healthy, prove-it type of year given his injury-riddled history.
Or maybe they go back to Belichick’s wheelhouse. There’s no slam-dunk option, but that doesn’t mean the Patriots won’t find a decent tight end to develop.
“No Gronkowskis in this draft,” said NFL Network analyst Charley Casserly, on hand at the scouting combine. “It’s a huge loss if he’s not there. But, they’ll need a pass-catching tight end. Allen is a blocker. Gronkowski does both. But if they go into the draft, they’ll likely get a pass catcher who won’t have the ability anywhere near Gronkowski as a blocker. Gronkowski is a once-a-generation player, with his receiving and blocking ability.”
So we’ve established the obvious. What’s left?
NFL Network’s Mike Mayock has South Carolina’s Hayden Hurst (6-5, 250) as the top tight end. It’s hard to know if he’ll go in the first round, especially with all the quarterbacks expected to be taken. Unless Gronkowski retires — his agent Drew Rosenhaus yesterday told “PFT Live” there was no timetable on him making a decision — it’s hard to believe the Pats would jump on a tight end with their first-round pick.
They have a pair of second-round picks, so that’s not out of the realm. Maybe they like Hurst, who spent two years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but developed the yips and lost his fastball. If he drops to the second round, he could be the guy.
What does Hurst feel separates him from the rest?
“My sure-handedness,” he said yesterday. “I dropped one pass in three years at South Carolina. My speed — I hope to run in the 4.5s (today). That’s what I’ve been training at. And just my physicality. My run blocking can obviously be better; I think you can say that about a lot of things. But I think my physicality and my want-to in the blocking game also separates me.”
South Dakota State’s Dallas Goedert (6-5, 255) might also be on the Patriots radar. He’s a former basketball player. He dominated at the FCS level, leading tight ends in all divisions last year with 1,111 yards from 72 receptions and seven touchdowns. He has the speed, size and talent to succeed at a higher level. He just has to prove it.
His favorite NFL tight end? Gronkowski, of course. He’s watched plenty of film and thinks he has similar traits.
“I do watch Gronk’s game. He’s an unbelievable athlete. His speed and his size, not a lot of people have that. He does a great job. He’s a fierce competitor. I love everything I see him do,” said Goedert. “When he’s running routes, he’s going to get the ball every time. He has that attitude about him I think I have as well.”
Indiana’s Ian Thomas (65, 248) is another intriguing prospect. He flashed at the Senior Bowl, but he’s more of a project who’ll need coaching and developing.
If the Pats are looking for a pure pass-catching tight end, Penn State’s Mike Gesicki (6-6, 252) might get their attention. Some believe Gesicki could become one of the better pass-catching tight ends in the league. The Pats will love his work ethic. He told a story about how he cured a drop problem his sophomore year. His first two years, he had 24 catches. His last two, 105.
“Going through that adversity and those kind of struggles, it made me work harder,” said Gesicki. “There were times I’d go over to the building at 11 o’clock at night and our coaches would find out the next day and be like, ‘Hey, man, what are you doing in the building? Aren’t you supposed to be asleep?’ I pride myself on my work ethic so I’m going to outwork anybody and everybody in order to get to where I need to go and to achieve what I want to achieve.”
Maybe there isn’t a Gronk. But the Pats are still likely to hit up the draft well once again for a prospect. When it comes to tight ends, it’s what they do.