The New England Patriots selected two tight ends in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, but it’s easy to understand why UCLA’s Devin Asiasi was their first of the two. Asiasi — when compared to his draft classmate, Dalton Keene — is a much more natural projection to serve as the Patriots’ top tight end in 2020 and the coming years.
Asaisi spent time serving as an in-line blocker for the Bruins’ rushing attack. While a tight end is all-important in the passing game, New England also requires their tight ends to be — at the very least — willing blockers. Asaisi seems to embrace that part of the job, though there’s, of course, plenty of room for improvement. But he appears competent enough for him not to be a liability and, therefore, spend a lot of time on the field on running downs.
That should also open up the second strength in his game — his ability to get open in the middle of the field, whether on a seam route, crossing route or post route. He is particularly strong in play action, and considering the Patriots are still figuring out what to do at quarterback, they may resort to a larger reliance on the ground attack. That will mean plenty of blocking duties for Asiasi, with a few play-action targets sprinkled in for good measure.
Over time, Asiasi should develop into a starting tight end. He may have been a safer pick than Keene, but Asiasi has plenty of upside. He had just eight career catches until his production popped in 2019 (44 catches, 641 yards, four TDs). That film is really solid, and even though it’s just one year of work, it’s easy to imagine him becoming TE1 in New England for the next few years.
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