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The New England Patriots won just seven games last season — but have agreed to terms with eight new free agents since the tampering period opened less than 24 hours ago.
The latest signing is arguably the biggest surprise: tight end Hunter Henry. If the Patriots hadn’t signed tight end Jonnu Smith, Henry’s arrival wouldn’t have been crazy. But Bill Belichick is poised to add both tight ends — on top of the other players he landed this offseason, which includes receivers Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne.
The 2021 passing offense will look totally different in 2021 after an utterly awful demonstration in 2020. The Patriots are going from this:
QB: Cam Newton
TE: Devin Asiasi, Dalton Keene
WR: Jakobi Meyers, Damiere Byrd, N’Keal Harry, Julian Edelman (missed most of the season and was hurt)
RB: Sony Michel, Damien Harris, James White
To this:
QB: Newton
TE: Smith, Henry
WR: Agholor, Bourne, Meyers, Edelman (hopefully not injured)
RB: Harris, Michel, ???
It’s important to include the “???” at running back, because the Patriots are committed to adding more talent at the position, per NFL Network’s Michael Giardi. That makes sense with James White and Rex Burkhead slated to enter free agency. If you thought Henry was the icing on top of the Patriots’ offensive funfetti cake, just wait until they splash at running back.
But let’s get back to Henry, who will work as the co-centerpiece of the offense with Smith. They going to be the key cogs that make this offense go. It won’t look exactly like what the Patriots did with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. It might be closer to what they had with Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett (which, because of injuries, never really materialized as a duo).
Henry’s game blurs with that of a receiver. He has unique physical tools that allow him to be an intermediate threat and a possession receiver. In 2020, he had 60 catches for 613 yards and four touchdowns. At least as a pass-catcher, Henry presents many of the same problems that Gronk presented. His only downsides? He’s dealt with some injuries and has never played a full season. He’s also not the most dominant blocker. That said, he’s an excellent complement to Smith.
Smith is a player who is dynamic as a run-blocker, which the Titans used to their advantage by disguising routes with play action (with Smith faking blocks before running his routes). Smith is also an incredible athlete after the catch — and his athleticism also shines in the red zone, where he had eight touchdowns in 2020.
It’s a fascinating duo, with outrageous potential.
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