There may be no position group on any of the NFL’s 32 teams that improved more in 2021 than the Patriots tight ends.
Which, as with the wideout group we highlighted last week, is more an indictment of how far the group fell than a credit to otherworldly play.
Curran's position evaluations: QB | RB | OL | WR
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Between Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, the position accounted for 78 catches, 897 yards and 10 touchdowns. In 2020, Ryan Izzo, Dalton Keene and Devin Asiasi accounted for 18 catches, 254 yards and a touchdown. By way of comparison, Asiasi -- a third-round draft pick in ’20 -- caught two passes for 39 yards and a score while Cam Newton caught two passes for 35 yards and a touchdown.
The Patriots got 36 catches in 2019 from Benjamin Watson, Matt LaCosse and Izzo. Once feared, the Patriots tight end group fell into complete disuse.
The position isn’t quite feared now, but it’s at least worthy of conversation.
Bright spots
New England Patriots
The conversation begins and ends with Hunter Henry. The 27-year-old played every game and caught 50 of the 75 balls sent his way by Mac Jones with a career-high nine touchdowns. He was exactly what Jones needed at tight end this year: A dependable and sure-handed third-down and red-zone target who provided outstanding support on the field and off for Jones. The excellent website Pro Football Reference had Henry with zero drops for the year.
The disappointments
More was expected from the versatile Jonnu Smith in 2021. He was targeted 45 times and caught 28 passes with four drops. That’s the most drops of his career and the catch total was a comedown from 2020, when he had 41 catches for 448 yards and eight touchdowns with the Titans.
Smith didn’t attend OTAs and then was injured for much of the team’s mandatory minicamp. In an offense that asks so much of its tight ends, it’s worth wondering whether he’d have been better in ’21 if he was around more in the offseason. He only played 51 percent of the Patriots offensive snaps after he was over 70 percent in his last three seasons with Tennessee.
Second-year tight end Devin Asiasi played in one game and didn’t catch a pass. Dalton Keene, taken in the fourth round in 2020, missed the season on injured reserve. Matt LaCosse spent the season on the practice squad.
Contract status
Henry signed a three-year, $37.5 million deal with the Patriots. He’s got salaries of $9 and $9.5 million the next two years with cap hits of $15 and $15.5 million.
Smith, 26, signed a four-year, $50 million deal with $31.25 million fully guaranteed. He’s got salaries of $9, $10 and $11 million the next three years and cap hits of $13.75, $14.75 and $15.75 million. The Patriots will need more bang for their buck from him in ’22.
Asiasi and Keene have two years left on their rookie deals and both have cap hits of just over $1 million.
Roster locks for 2022
Henry and Smith aren’t going anywhere. And I’d be surprised if Smith isn’t much better in 2022. He’s just too talented to be a non-factor as he was for much of the season. Asiasi and Keene will need to show something in camp to make sure they’re around because at this point, neither has shown they're even a backup-level tight end in the NFL. Asiasi in particular seems to have all the tools necessary as a receiver to succeed, so don’t pull the ripcord on his relevance yet.