Update on Patriots' TE position battle after one week of training camp
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Tight end may have been the most talked-about position heading into the New England Patriots' training camp and with good reason. After losing Rob Gronkowski to retirement and Dwayne Allen to free agency, a position of strength turned into the weakest position group on the roster.
To counteract their losses, the Patriots went out and signed former Patriot Ben Watson along with Matt LaCosse, Andrew Beck, and recently added veteran, Lance Kendricks.
Even after these moves, there was still a lot of doubt whether this tight end group was capable of even putting up a fraction of the numbers Gronkowski produced. These doubts aren't unreasonable since no tight end on the current roster put up more than 400 yards and two touchdowns this past season.
Is there still hope? At least one of these tight ends has separated themselves after a full week of practices, right? Well, yes and no.
Since training camp started last week, Watson has led all tight ends in targets by a fair margin. He has gotten the most reps of all the tight ends and it's pretty easy to see that he's the team's No. 1 option heading into the 2019 season. The only problem is that Watson is suspended for the first four games after violating the league's substance-abuse policy. So who's the next man up?
While it's still early in training camp, it looks like LaCosse is expected to be the starter in Week 1 in Watson's absence. The former Denver Bronco has exhibited decent route running ability and has proven that he can be a serviceable blocker based off his efforts in the 2018 season. LaCosse has been rotating in with the starting unit alongside Watson which indicates that Watson is likely 1A on the depth chart and LaCosse is 1B.
So it looks like after Week 4, this year's version of Gronk and Allen will be replaced by Watson and LaCosse. Not ideal, but it's all New England has to work with. But what are the Patriots plans prior to Week 4? Do they carry just one tight end until Watson can return? That's unlikely, so let's take a look at who the team will carry on the active roster until they are at full strength.
If you refer back to Zack Cox's tweet from above you'll see that Stephen Anderson is second behind Watson in catches and targets after eight practices. Earlier this offseason we took a closer look at what Anderson brings to the table as a pass-catching tight end.
Anderson looks like the most fluid route runner among all the tight ends in New England, and if you didn't know his position it would be understandable if you confused him with a larger wide receiver. Just check out this grab from Anderson in the team's fourth training camp practice.
Where Anderson needs to improve is his blocking, as he is a bit undersized at the position weighing in at 230 pounds. He is below average in his run blocking, but the Patriots could decide to use him as the "Flex" tight end that is primarily used as a route runner. Similar to the way New England used Tim Wright in 2014. While Anderson may not be as an accomplished receiver as Wright just yet, he has all the foundational skills to be just as good if not better.
As for the other tight ends on the roster, nobody has been able to truly stick out. Izzo is primarily a blocking tight end and doesn't seem to be much of a factor in the passing game. The same could be said for Beck out of Texas. Kendricks has had a couple of flashes but has much more to prove that he is deserving of a spot in the 53-man roster.
