The New England Patriots saw a change of epic proportions on the offensive side of the ball in 2013. They went from having the best tight end duo in the National Football League, to not having a single tight end who teams had to game plan for.
With Aaron Hernandez facing murder chargers and Rob Gronkowski recovering from yet another injury, the Patriots had to turn to Michael Hoomanawanui and rookie Zach Sudfeld. Sudfeld played in three games before being cut and was not targeted once in any of the three games. Hoomanaawanui was targeted only 19 times all year, catching 12 of his targets. Back-up tight ends Matthew Mulligan and DJ Williams had two catches on three targets and zero targets respectively. So there you have it. Tight ends not named Rob Gronkowski caught 14 passes all year long. To put that into perspective, Gronk reached that mark almost immediately upon his return. Clearly, the Patriots need some help at tight end. This is a very deep draft class for tight ends, but Bill Belichick may look to acquire a veteran instead of going with another young receiver for Brady, and Scott Chandler would be the most likely of the free agent tight ends to be signed by New England. Chandler has always been a tough cover for the Patriots and Belichick likes to acquire players he has trouble against. (See Welker, Wes) His 38 yards receiving on opening day are the fewest against the Patriots since 2011. He caught three touchdowns against the Patriots in 2012. Last year, Chandler even had more catches than Vernon Davis, and did so on fewer targets. I am not by any means saying that Chandler is better than Davis; however, he is a productive and talented receiving threat (he led the Bills in receptions and receiving yards) that has yet to get the opportunity to play on a good offense with a good quarterback. Money would certainly not be an issue if the Patriots decided to pursue Chandler. What might be the deal breaker is that the Patriots like to have a player who is well versed in all aspects of the game at his position. Chandler, however, is not a very good run blocker. That being said, Hernandez was not called upon to block very often. Rob Gronkowski, on the other hand, is exceptional at both aspects of the game, so they may accept the fact that Chandler is more of a receiver. That is, after all, what they need in a tight end.
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SAMUEL PERICOLOSam is a graduate of Assumption College where he studied History, Marketing, and Political Science and was a Co-Producer on a weekly sports talk television show. Archives
March 2018
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