Round three of positional previews for training camp. I covered the interior of the offensive line Thursday, and safeties on Tuesday. Today, we take a look at the sound as a pound tight end group.
TE: Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Jaheim Bell, Jack Westover, C.J. Dippre, Gee Scott
What I Like About This Group: We know exactly who the top two in this group are and what they're capable of. I like certainty. Josh McDaniels does, too.
What I Dislike About This Group: Knowing if something happens to one of the top two guys, the Pats are thin and inexperienced.
X-Factor: Health (duh).
There haven't been a lot of moves that Eliot Wolf can trumpet proudly in his short tenure. Drafting Drake Maye. Trading Matthew Judon for a third-round pick (which the team then flipped for a later 3rd, Jared Wilson, and a 5th, Bradyn Swinson). And maybe, just maybe, convincing Hunter Henry that staying in Foxborough for a few extra dollars belongs somewhere in that conversation.
All Henry did last year was play in every game but the finale (held out because the Pats were kinda, sorta trying to lose), tie for the team lead with 66 catches, and provide the kind of steady presence in that locker room that so many other veterans failed to deliver during the second straight season from hell.
Henry had a rock-solid spring and was unquestionably the team's most consistent pass catcher. That relationship with Maye continues to grow, and while the veteran isn't the kind of singular talent that opposing coordinators toss and turn over, he does have to be accounted for, especially on money downs.
Across Drake Maye’s 10 full games, Hunter Henry led Patriots receivers in all of the following stats: targets per game (5.9), receiving YPG (44.9), first-read target share (21.1%), catchable targets (50), end zone targets (4), and expected fantasy points per game (10.5).
— Matt Williamson (@WilliamsonNFL) June 18, 2025
I don't give a flying fig about expected fantasy points, but those other nuggets are tasty. Henry was also quite the red zone option during the 2021-22 season (career-high 9 touchdowns), and that's relevant because the offensive coordinator then, McDaniels, is the same as now.
“Working with Josh before, he has a tremendous mind,” said Henry of McDaniels. “I learned a lot from him that one year I was with him. So I’m excited to grow with him.”
The team was also able to re-sign Hooper to a one-year deal worth $5 million, with $4 million guaranteed. That's not a break-the-bank contract, but it's healthy enough to hammer home the comfort level both Mike Vrabel (who coached Hooper in Tennessee) and McDaniels, who signed him in Vegas, have with the 30-year-old.
There's also the Maye part of this equation. Of Hooper's 45 catches, 32 of them came when the young signal caller was in charge. Only Henry and Pop Douglas had more. That, and the cash, helped the well-traveled vet stay put.
"I'd be lying if I said that wasn't a big part of the equation (playing with Drake Maye)," admitted Hooper earlier this spring. "And also sharing a room with Hunter Henry."
Neither Henry nor Hooper is considered a top-shelf blocker, but both do enough to be at least competent. That may sway what the Pats do with their third tight end.
On the one hand, they have Bell, a draft pick of Wolf's from 2024. He played in 15 games as a rookie but had precious little production (2 catches for 20 yards). The previous staff tried him on occasion at fullback, but there wasn't enough there to convince this new staff that it was an option, at least not from what we saw this spring. Bell definitely is more of a move-tight end, but based on OTAs and mini-camp, the only place he was moving was down the depth chart. To wit, when Hooper was limited, it was Westover who was next in line, not Bell.
That said (or written, in this case), that was about the only thing I noticed about Westover. I can't tell you what kind of blocker he is because the team wasn't in pads. As a receiver, the ball didn't go his way much, if at all. At least Bell had a couple of days where he was targeted a bunch. That B Bell couldn't catch them is problematic, but at least he was open.
Westover is 26, was signed to the practice squad in October, and got a grand total of nine offensive snaps in three games.
Like the belle of the spring ball, Efton Chism, Dippre was guaranteed $234K by the Pats to sign as an undrafted free agent. He also received a $30,000 signing bonus. That doesn't guarantee Dippre anything, but the former Alabama and Maryland tight end has 37 career starts under his belt. His best year as a receiver was in 2022 with the Terps, catching 30 passes. The 6'5", 256-pounder had 21 during his final year for the Crimson Tide. Dippre showed an ability to be a lead blocker, and if the Pats want to go heavier, he might move to the head of the lesser-known trio.