Bill Belichick Reveals Hunter Henry Scouting Report: 'One of Patriots' Best!'
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has always gone out of his way to praise opposing teams, perhaps even when they don't deserve it. He's also happy to compliment the production that former Patriots gave the organization during their time with the team. But the six-time Super Bowl Champion coach has typically avoided doing a ton of public lauding of players that he's currently coaching.
So tight end Hunter Henry has to feel really good about his standing with the Patriots based off of what Belichick had to say about him this week. When asked about the veteran tight end's offseason, Belichick was very complimentary.
"Great. Good. Really good. One of our best," Belichick said of Henry's offseason work.
What specifically has stood out about Henry?
"He’s here every day, consistency, he made a lot of improvement," Belichick continued. "Of course, last year, he was coming off of a surgery, but this year, he had a really good, productive offseason from a strength and conditioning standpoint. Last year, it was more rehab. He was very productive on the field, gave us good leadership, he’s great."
After spending the first five seasons of his career with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, Henry joined the Patriots on a three-year/$37.5 million deal ahead of the 2021 season, a pact that guaranteed him $25 million. In two seasons with the Patriots, Henry has 91 catches for 1,112 yards and 11 touchdowns. New England could have moved on from him this offseason and only been left with $5 million in dead cap money, but instead chose to retain him for the final year of his deal, a sign that they remain intrigued by the 28-year-old's potential.
Henry and fellow tight end Mike Gesicki -- signed away from the division-rival Miami Dolphins this offseason -- will likely be at the forefront of New England's passing attack. While JuJu Smith-Schuster was signed in free agency, the Patriots remain limited in their talent at the receiver position after Jakobi Meyers left to join the Las Vegas Raiders on a free-agent deal and Belichick wasn't able to ink former All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins to a contract.
If New England has any path to the postseason in a suddenly-loaded AFC East, it will likely be with offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien and quarterback Mac Jones leaning on the duo of tight ends. And it seems the coaching staff is very happy with where Henry is entering this season.
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