One of the draft’s top tight ends had the New England Patriots on his mind during a meeting with the media on Tuesday at the 2020 NFL combine in Indianapolis. Washington tight end Hunter Bryant was in deep admiration of New England — and its quarterback.
Bryant was asked: If he could catch a pass from any signal-caller in NFL history, who would it be?
“Probably Tom Brady. Just because he’s the G.O.A.T. He’s the best who’s ever done it,” Bryant said. “He’s a great competitor. And I like just how knowledgeable he is about the game, and I have a lot of respect for him.”
As good as Brady is with ball placement and timing, he’s not an easy man to catch the ball from. He demands a tremendous amount of preparation and knowledge from his pass-catchers, and he requires tight ends and receivers to have a thorough knowledge of New England’s playbook — and that of its opponent. Brady’s incessant adjustments and checks at the line of scrimmage can test a young pass-catcher’s aptitude for the game. And if Brady changes a player’s route — or the whole play — then a youngster may find himself in the wrong place, where he’ll draw Brady’s ire and definitely not a target. Bryant, however, said he feels prepared for an offense which might challenge him mentally.
“At UW, we had to do that a lot at the tight end position,” Bryant said. “We had to know what blitzes were coming, what coverages they were in. I kind of got a jumpstart on it, just because our offense is pro-style.”
He said he’s spent a great deal of time at the whiteboard with teams during informal interviews, where he had a chance to show his knowledge of the game. The tests focused on his knowledge of his playbook at Washington while also introducing new concepts to see what he could absorb — and how quickly. When he met with the media on Tuesday, he didn’t know which teams were scheduled for a formal meeting, but he had spoken with Patriots staffers. Bryant showed appreciation for how Bill Belichick has used tight ends in the Patriots’ scheme.
“I like the Patriots a lot and how they implement them, when they had Gronk and even (Aaron) Hernandez back with what he was doing — on the field, at least. They were an elite duo, and they used them a lot and they were both very good at what they do,” Bryant said.
Martellus Bennett also enjoyed significant success with New England, but the Patriots’ tight end position looks lackluster since Rob Gronkowski retired. They may look to bring youth and talent to the position in the 2020 NFL Draft, and it sounds like Bryant, a potential first-round pick, thinks of himself as a good fit for New England.
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