New England Patriots Rookie Profile: Dalton Keene
- Position: Tight end
- Age: 21
- Hometown: Littleton, CO
- College: Virginia Tech
Measurables
- Height: 6-foot-4
- Weight: 253 pounds
- Arms: 32 1/4 inches
- Hands: 9 3/4 inches
Combine Results
- 40-yard dash: 4.71 seconds
- Bench press: 21 reps
- Vertical jump: 34.0 inches
- Broad jump: 125.0 inches
- 3-cone drill: 7.07 seconds
- 20-yard shuttle: 4.19 seconds
Dalton Keene was a Patriot before he became a Patriot, which is why New England was willing to trade up and take him with with the 101st overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
After having his best season statistically to-date in 2018 in which he caught 28 balls for 341 yards and three touchdowns, Keene took a step back last season, catching 21 passes for 241 yards and five touchdowns. His overall lack of production while at Virginia Tech wasn't his fault, as he was heavily underutilized in the Hokies offense. Nevertheless, his sample size showed he has tremendous YAC ability (nine missed tackles on 59 catches) and athleticism, which means his best days as a football player are likely in front of him.
His PFF grades will definitely not wow anyone. He earned a 62.5 overall grade, 64.3 receiving grade and 62.3 run-blocking grade last season. But he gets after it as a blocker, which means he just needs to polish his technique to improve in that category. In regards to the rest of his game - which is likely why the Patriots drafted him - his ability to play tight end and off the ball in a fullback-like position in the backfield effectively makes him a Kyle Juszczyk-like weapon for New England's offense, which is great value especially when considering that James Develin is no longer on the team.
"I mean, when you watch Dalton play, you just don't see a lot of things that we do," head coach Bill Belichick said about Keene after the draft when asked how he evaluates a player like him that didn't have a lot of production in college. The Virginia Tech offense didn't really translate too much to a New England Patriot offense. That's not uncommon with other players as well. It is what it is. I think the things you saw him do, which was his blocking, his effort to block, his toughness, ability to make plays with the ball in his hands, and certainly the intent of the offense to get him the ball was impressive. They did a lot of things to try to get him the ball one way or another: hand it to him, throw it to him, put him in different locations so that he could run with it or catch it and run with it. That's what you saw.
"I've already talked to him about that, that it's going to be a big transition for him in terms of learning our system, being I would say more detailed, more specific on a lot of assignments, particularly in the passing game, learning how to block in close quarters. Again, he shows plenty of ability to do that in size, quickness and so forth. Just he hasn't done a lot of it. He played quite a bit in the backfield, not as a fullback, but kind of an off-the-ball, sometimes a fullback location, but not really lined up behind the quarterback, but lined in the backfield, off the lines. A little bit of a different location than what we would normally use. He's a smart kid. He's athletic. He's strong. He's tough. I don't see any reason why he can't and won't make those adjustments in time. We'll work on it."
Though it will be a big transition for him going from Virginia Tech to the Patriots, Keene is a hard worker and will do whatever you ask him to do on the football field, giving 110%, which is where his Patriot-like qualities shined through prior to the draft.
It's tough to determine how big his workload will be in his rookie season. Though the tight end room is scarce with talent in New England, Keene isn't polished enough to be a starter right away. Couple that with the fact that the Patriots drafted Devin Asiasi 10 picks before Keene in the draft, and it would make sense if Keene was nothing more than a situational football player in 2020. It wouldn't be surprising if Asiasi and Matt LaCosse were listed in front of Keene on the depth chart heading into Week 1. However, because of Keene's ability to play multiple positions, he could end up earning more snaps on a week-to-week basis than either of those players by the end of the season.
