That led to the team rolling out a group of 39 year old Ben Watson, journeyman Matt Lacosse, and seventh round pick Ryan Izzo.
In obvious need of a spark, the Patriots decided to get aggressive in the 2020 NFL Draft and take not one but two tight ends in the third round, Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene.
That brings us to the 2021 offseason, where Bill Belichick had enough of the slander and went out and signed both top tight ends on the open market in Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry, to form a much improved group.
Despite increasing his numbers in every major category throughout his four year career and parlaying that growth into a four-year, $50 million contract, many are still expecting him to make a giant leap with the Patriots.
In addition to an increased role, Smith will have a partner in crime in the next man, to open up the field and help give everyone more favorable matchups.
Bill Belichick went into free agency with a plan to improve his tight end room that had lacked any sort of production in the last two seasons as the Patriots shocked the NFL world by signing Hunter Henry to a three year, $37.1 million dollar deal just a day after the Patriots gave big money to Jonnu Smith.
As a rookie, Asiasi had high expectations after the Patriots took him with pick 99 finally preparing for “Life after Gronk.” However, life was tough for Asiasi in year 1 as Covid-19 struck the world and the learning curve was too much for the highly touted rookie.
The Patriots will prepare for a lot of heavy sets and with Henry and Smith having injury concerns in the past, Asiasi can slot in as a reliable TE2 in a room loaded with playmaking ability.
His disappointing first 14 months started with a draft reach, where Keene was selected about 100 picks higher than many anticipated, and was paired with a COVID restricted offseason that limited the growth that he very clearly needed.
Now obviously he can’t just wake up and do all of those things for a notoriously complex offense, but what he can do is latch onto a few concepts and be used as a versatile piece inside them.
However, after his opt out, the big money signings of Smith and Henry and Asiasi and Keene being on rookie contracts, Lacosse is a long shot to make the Patriots 53 man roster out of training camp.
The former Bronco has had an uneventful few seasons in the league that have included more practice squad stints than touchdown catches.
Asiasi may find some time on the field to give Henry or Smith a breather but will likely serve as a depth piece in case one of Smith or Henry miss time due to injury.
It seems rather obvious that the Patriots had ‘12’ and ‘22’ personnel in mind this past offseason.
If one or both of them finds themselves sidelined on opening day, it could take the team a while to find a consistent rhythm in that personnel grouping.
With Smith, Henry and Asiasi locked into the Patriots 53 man roster, Keene and Johnson will have to battle it out at fullback and shine at their limited reps at tight end in the pre-season to make the team.
Devin Asias, Hunter Henry, and Jonnu Smith are all signed on through the 2023 season, and project to be the top three tight ends on the roster during that span.