2017 Patriots position-by-position review: Tight end

With the Patriots’ 2017 season done, we’re going to take a look back at the team by position, and provide a few thoughts as to what they might need at that spot moving forward. We started with the quarterback. Now, it’s on to the tight end:


2017 depth chart: Rob Gronkowski (69 catches, 105 targets, 1,084 yards, 8 TDs), Martellus Bennett (6 catches, 6 targets, 53 yards) Dwayne Allen (10 catches, 22 targets, 86 yards, 1 TD), Jacob Hollister (4 catches, 11 targets, 42 yards). Fullback James Develin (6 catches, 10 targets, 38 yards) is in the same positional group with the tight ends, so for this exercise, we'll include him here.

Contract status: Gronkowski (signed through 2019), Bennett (signed through 2019), Allen (signed through 2019), Hollister (signed through 2019), Develin (signed through 2018).

Overview: There were moments early in the season where Gronkowski appeared to be worn down after being asked to carry too much of the offense, but he managed to find some balance as the year went on. (Part of that boost was due to the two-game cameo from old friend Bennett, while some was helped by the emergence of the New England run game.) When he was steady, there were multiple occasions in 2017 where the big tight end flexed his muscles and looked like the most overwhelming offensive presence in the game. Gronkowski was a borderline MVP candidate for a three-game stretch through late November and into December (which wrapped around his one-game suspension) where he had 23 catches for 397 yards and two touchdowns.

His post-Super Bowl hint that he needs to consider his future options was a bit of a surprise (and likely more contract-related than anything) so we’ll write down any Gronkowski-related on-field predictions for 2018 in pencil instead of pen. But from this perspective, it’d be a surprise if he did decide to hang 'em up now.

Best Moment: There were a lot of great moments for the big tight end this past season, but the Dec. 17 game in Pittsburgh was one of the best of his career. Against the Steelers, he had nine catches on 13 targets for a career-high 168 yards. He powered a late drive with three successive catches (for 26, 26 and 17 yards) to put New England in position for the eventual game-winning touchdown from Dion Lewis, and then followed that up with the catch on the two-point conversion.

Here are the three best catches of the year for Gronkowski. The first was his scoop off the shoetops late in the win over the Steelers. It was so good we had to show it from two angles. “That final drive, the last one he took off his toes? Incredible,” Allen said of this catch. “Six-foot-seven guys aren’t supposed to do stuff like that. But Rob Gronkowski can.”



Second is a one-handed grab against the Bills later that same month, a play that had some similarities to the catch made by Cooks in the same piece of real estate as earlier in the season to beat the Texans. It may just be anecdotal, but it appeared that Gronk became a lot more adept this year when it came to boxing guys out and understanding just how to use his body in situations like this one and not get flagged for a push-off. Of course, it also helps when the quarterback puts it in a spot where only the receiver can get it.



Third is his longest reception of the year, a 53-yard touchdown catch against the Saints that was just as much Tom Brady as it was Gronkowski. For those who think of him as the sort who simply physically overwhelms his competition, this sequence really showcases Gronkowski's full range of talents -- he's faster than the woefully overmatched linebacker, he's aware enough to know that the play is still live after Brady is held up in the pocket, and he puts a neat little move on the defender to reach the end zone.



Worst Moment: Don’t have to go too far with this one — in the waning moments of a win over the Bills in December, a frustrated Gronkowski came crashing down on Buffalo defensive back Tre’Davious White after an interception, drawing an unnecessary roughness call, and later, a one-game suspension. After the game in the locker room, Gronkowski answered questions about what happened.



By the numbers: Here are some career comparisons with other tight ends before the age of 29. (Stack his per game averages against Jason Witten, Tony Gonzalez and Ozzie Newsome and you'll really be amazed.) First is total regular-season receptions:




Regular-season receiving yards.



Regular-season touchdown catches:



A few thoughts about the position: So what happens now? If Gronkowski puts Hollywood and/or the WWE on hold for another few years and he can stay healthy, the sky remains the limit. Best-case scenario? He, Brady, Julian Edelman and the rest of the core can maximize this window of opportunity and be in the mix for at least one more Super Bowl between now and the end of the 2019 season. (For what it's worth, both of their current deals are up at the same time.)


Of course, Gronkowski casts a long shadow, so it can be easy to forget about the rest of the tight end group. Allen was a really good blocker (go back and check the film from the win over the Steelers for evidence), but was a relative non-entity when it came to the passing game. If he does return, it’ll almost certainly be on a re-worked contract. Hollister and Develin will be back in 2018. Meanwhile, the feeling here is that Bennett retires and puts his big brain to work on art, animation and music.

Chance Patriots address this position in free agency: Slight. So much of this depends on whether or not Gronkowski decides to retire. If that happens, there are some free-agent possibilities out there, including Jimmy Graham. (Of course, if Gronkowski does call it a career, you can figure that the Patriots will de-emphasize the tight end role and look to make up for it somewhere else. But that's a whole different conversation.) The simple truth is that it’s not a great market for free agent tight ends, at least not this year.

Chance Patriots address this position in the draft: Good. It’s not going to be an overwhelming priority, but even if Gronkowski does come back, New England needs to start planning for a post-Gronkowski future sooner rather than later; it’s remarkable to think he’ll be 29 in May. Could a mid-rounder like South Dakota State’s hyper-athletic Dallas Goedert be the sort of guy on New England’s radar this spring?