Relationship between Belichick, Ferentz will play sizable role in whether Patriots pursue Hockenson

You need a new car? Helps if you have a good relationship with the dealer.

As the pre-draft process kicks into high gear, that’s the philosophy to keep in mind when you’re talking about the Patriots and the tight end position. With Rob Gronkowski retiring, New England is in the market for a new model. The best place to go? A school that produces NFL-ready tight ends on a fairly regular basis. And Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz has been pals with Bill Belichick for 30-plus years.

The bottom line? When it comes down to deciding on what to do come draft night, Belichick’s relationship with Ferentz will play a sizable role in deciding whether or not the Patriots push their chips to the middle of the table and trade up from No. 32 into the first half of the first round to get T.J. Hockenson.

Ferentz was on Belichick’s staff in Cleveland. Brian Ferentz — Kirk’s son — is the offensive coordinator with the Hawkeyes, a job he took after spending a year as the tight ends coach in New England. Another Ferentz son -- James -- is an offensive lineman for the Patriots. And at one point last year, for all the talk about Rutgers and Georgia providing a pipeline to Foxborough, Iowa was the best-represented school on the roster.

As far as Big 10 TV football analyst Gerry DiNardo is concerned, that’s not a coincidence. And portends good things when it comes to the possibility of Hockenson-to-New England.

“What I find interesting here is the relationship between Kirk and Bill and Brian and Bill,” said DiNardo. “Not only their relationship as coaches, but as friends. I can tell you that there are a lot of similarities between what the Patriots are doing and what Iowa is doing.”

DiNardo knows a little about whether or not college players meshing in Foxborough — when he was head coach at LSU, he coached future Pats like Kevin Faulk and Jarvis Green.

“Brian became the offensive coordinator last year, and stayed mostly on script, but last year, you could see him evolving a bit and doing some things that looked a lot like what they do in New England,” said DiNardo. “There’s some west coast-stuff with some spread concepts integrated. It just seems to me this way favors New England when you are talking about getting acclimated quickly. The personal relationship there with the Ferentz’s will be a plus. The relationship appears to be very strong between the two staffs.”

Both Kirk and Brian Ferentz turned down interview requests for this story.

So is there room for another Hawkeye in Foxborough? Without Gronkowski, the addition of Hockenson would certainly make a lot of sense on multiple levels, according to those who have watched the Hawkeyes (and Hockenson) the last several years. The job description for a New England tight end? Simple: You need to be a steady and consistent target that is also a more-than-willing blocker. A quick study, someone who can pick things up quickly. And you have to be versatile, willing to line up in multiple spots while being asked to multiple things.

When it comes to Hockenson, people who have watched him play and coached him over the years, it’s check, check and check.



“I love Hockenson. I think he’s the safest player in the draft,” NFL Media draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said of Hockenson, who has wowed at every stage of the pre-draft process, causing him to move into the early stages of the first round when it comes to most mocks.

The general consensus is there is only one Gronk. But after watching tape of Hockenson immediately after seeing Gronkowski in the Patriots’ playoff win over the Chargers, Jeremiah hinted the 21-year-old has a little Gronk in his game, especially when you’re talking about working as a blocker.

“Part of the benefit for (Hockenson) in terms of what I gave him and where I ranked him, I did him the day after watching Rob Gronkowski live in person in the playoff game against the Chargers, and I saw Gronk completely dominate a football game without really having to catch the ball. He was just so dominant in the run game.

”Then I flip on this kid,” added Jeremiah, “and he’s not as tall as Gronk, and I don’t compare anybody to Gronk— he’s on a whole different level in terms of what he can do — but I saw this kid with that same temperament and nastiness in the run game and controlling the run game, and then on top of that, he does nothing but get open and catch everything they throw to him.”

He’s always been an elite talent, even in the tiny town of Chariton, Iowa. Curt Smyser, who coached Hockenson for four years at Chariton High, said you could see from a really early age he had a chance to be special.

“He played for us for four years — as soon as he stepped on the field as a freshman, you could see he could play,” Smyser said of Hockenson, who was a three-time first-team all-state pick in high school. “He wasn’t ready then as a blocker, but he had great hands and was a great route runner. We knew he’d be pretty successful fairly early on.”

The baseball-loving Hockenson ended up committing to football full time, and landed a scholarship at Iowa. He was a redshirt freshman, and spent that year filling out his frame to a point where he now stands a Gronkowski-esque 6-foot-5 and 251 pounds.