Player Profile: Do the Patriots Really Care About their Tight Ends?

The major problem with the Patriots’ tight-end position is this: Besides Gronkowski, their remaining tight ends are bubble players—players who would have been fighting for their job two seasons ago. Now, guys like Michael Hoomanawanui and D.J. Williams are almost roster locks unless the Patriots elect to sign some random street free agent who could better serve their purposes.

Oh, how things change quickly in the NFL.

While the Patriots have tight-end depth, that depth will produce only mediocre results.  After all, that is what “depth” is supposed to do—be a stopgap until better players come along to pick up the slack. Again, the major problem: Better players are not going to come along.

Hoomanawauni is little more than a situation blocker and a non-existent receiver. Last year, he posted a mere 12 receptions for 136 yards and graded out -5.6 in run blocking according to Pro Football Focus. He was not much better at protecting Brady. His lone, outstanding one-handed catch in week 15 was a reminder of years gone by when spectacular catches were the norm for Patriot tight ends.  

Of the remaining tight ends, the Patriots hope they struck gold with undrafted players Justin Jones and Asa Watson. For now, both will be project players. Jones’ main attribute is his massive 6-foot 277-pound frame, while Watson’s family has roots in the NFL.  (He is the much younger brother of former Patriot tight end Ben Watson, if that counts for anything.) Veteran D.J. Williams is a veteran “move” tight end who has made little impact in 35 career NFL games. Yes, Aaron Hernandez was the former “move” tight end, so the drop off is steep.

The careers of these above players will depend on the health and return of Gronkowski. No doubt, he will return to his old self, running over opponents and parading into the end zone. “Yo Soy Fiesta” will live on. The party will live on. I am less worried about Gronk’s injured knee than I was when he broke his arm. Something about an annoyingly rare arm infection concerns me more than an ACL injury these days. We (and by we, I mean not me) are more familiar with the recovery process for an ACL tear, but not so much with some random ass infection.

In any case, aside from Gronk's return, maybe all of this noise about the tight-end position will matter little by week 16. The Patriots have seemingly parted ways with a tight-end focused offense; although, it’s clear they were forced to given the legal events of last summer. On September 7, 2014 when Brady looks across the field at the Dolphins’ defense, he’ll be flanked instead by receivers and running backs, and that isn’t a bad thing.

As fans, we must focus on how the entire offense works in unison instead of concentrating on one position. When the Patriots abruptly traded Moss back to Minnesota in 2010, fans immediately began to clamor for the next big receiver to take his place. They argued the Patriots needed to take the top of the defense. The tight end position was a mere after thought. Then, Gronkowski and Hernandez took the NFL by storm and requests for a big-time receiver mellowed. Now, fans beg for the second-coming of Aaron Hernandez to complement Gronkowski. And while they also insist the Patriots build a more talented receiving core, they simply want that tight end more. If Hernandez was around last year, the receiving core would have taking little heat from the groundlings.

Fans tend to clutch onto one player, one position or one trend. They love the new, hip thing. And I get it. I do the same thing. And I understand that the Patriots found Gronkowski almost as fast as they lost Moss. When one left, the other entered the party through the back door. That won’t be the case this year. However, the Patriots’ offense has a way of adapting to opponents and growing throughout the season that other teams fail to mimic. Once again, this year will be the year of the no-name receiving core 2.0 plus a more prolific running back crew. And that isn't a bad thing.

The great tight-end duos of Patriots' lore are not walking through that door. Focus on the receivers. Focus on the running backs. Focus on the overall offense working together, just like you did back in their championship days.