The Post-Gronk Pats at Tight End

After my too-long tribute to Gronk yesterday it’s now time to take stock of the Patriots without Rob Gronkowski. The formerly cap-strapped team now has $17.5 million in space, about as much as they started the offseason with.

There’s room for free agents and there’s definitely room for some draft picks. Let’s take a positional deep dive…who’s on the roster, the free agents available and the draft picks who would fit.

The current free agent tight ends leave much to be desired. Austin Seferian-Jenkins is the only player who fits the mold. The second year of his option was declined after he spent most of 2018 on IR. The Jags were his third team and usually there’s a reason guys bounce around like that. But I’d welcome him, he was on my Top 50 Big Board coming out.

In the draft, TJ Hockensen is really the only option who could realistically be expected to step in and immediately play a big role as a Y tight end. The Pats have moved up in the first round for need a couple times before and perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised if they do it again.

After years of taken and missed first-round picks, the Patriots could certainly expend some of their draft capital and invest in a player like Hockensen. Adding more talent to the weaponry is a must at this point and the talent after the first round or two can be limited.

We saw last year with the surprising selection of Sony Michel in the first round that the Pats really weren’t averse to anything if they felt strongly enough about a particular player. The joke used to be that Belichick hoarded tight ends, so maybe Hockensen would be a player to make a jump for.

His Iowa teammate Noah Fant is the other exciting tight end, but he’s more of the F tight end spot, somewhat of a fluid luxury position for the Patriots that could range from move guys like Hernandez or Jacob Hollister to a second Y-type like Martellus Bennett.

Someone like Fant, Irv Smith or Jace Sternberger is equally valuable to a lower round Y who can block at an NFL level and play first and second down. He doesn’t even need to be huge receiving threat to contribute. Kaden Smith might make sense in for this reason and the Pats wouldn’t have to move up to get him.

The periods when the Pats didn’t have Gronk they got by with guys like Michael Hoomanawanui (didn’t miss typing that name) and Scott Chandler. When they had to lean on a sole F playing the Y spot, like the 2012 AFC Championship with Hernandez, they were handcuffed.

On the roster, the Patriots signed Matt Lacosse to a free agent deal and he has the size to play the Y spot. After time with the Giants, Lacosse broke through with the Broncos last year starting five games and grabbing 24 catches for 250 yards. He’s a baseline position holder and he’ll certainly have a chance to compete for a job.

Ryan Izzo might be the higher ceiling player. The 2018 seventh-round pick flashed in camp last year before ending up on IR over cutdown weekend and getting a redshirt season. He and Lacosse will both look the part and at this point both should be ready to bring it this summer.

Replacing Gronk will likely be done with three players. Two Y-type tight ends who can block and an F-type who will have more freedom to be moved around the formation.

Nothing is set in stone at the position right now. A trade with Tampa for someone like Cameron Brate makes a lot of sense. They should throw at least two or three more players into the mix through a variety of avenues.

The Patriots have a lot of offensive holes to fill — X-WR, Y-TE, F-TE and they need players who can contribute this fall. With cap space and 12 picks to work with, expect the next month to be extremely busy.