Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith join star-studded TE workout group

Share

The New England Patriots' new tight end duo will sharpen their skills alongside the best in the NFL at their position this summer.

Free-agent signings Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry are both participating in "Tight End University," a workout summit started by George Kittle, Travis Kelce and Greg Olsen that will take place in Nashville this offseason.

The summit's Twitter account confirmed Smith's attendance earlier in the week, then did the same for Henry on Thursday while revealing the former Los Angeles Chargers tight end is switching from No. 86 to No. 85 in New England.

Henry confirmed the switch via his Instagram story while shouting out Kittle, Kelce and Olsen.

That means second-year tight end Devin Asiasi will keep No. 86, while Smith looks like he'll stick with the No. 81 he wore last season with the Tennessee Titans.

Henry and Smith will be in good company at "Tight End University," as other attendees include Darren Waller, TJ Hockenson, Kyle Pitts, Mark Andrews, Mike Gesicki, Robert Tonyan, Noah Fant, Zach Ertz, Cole Kmet, Eric Ebron and David Njoku.

Predicting Patriots' stats with Henry and Smith in offense

That's a majority of the top tight ends in the game today, so Patriots fans will be pleased to see Henry and Smith in that group. Henry was considered the top tight end in free agency this offseason after posting 60 receptions for 613 yards and four touchdowns last season, while Smith -- 41 receptions for 448 yards and eight TDs in 2020 -- was right behind him.

Having both players in the offense should greatly benefit quarterback Cam Newton (or rookie Mac Jones) after an underwhelming 2020 campaign -- especially if they pick up some pointers from the best in the business this summer.

Contact Us