Chasing New England's top receiving tight end is a quickly moving target. Over the last four months there's been Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Benjamin Watson, Matt LaCosse (pictured) and the occasional Rob Gronkowski rumor. Uh, next man up?
Gronkowski is retired. Jacob Hollister, of course, was traded to Seattle (I wonder if New England could/would try to get him back?). Watson is suspended the first four games, and Seferian-Jenkins was released a while back. It seemed like the wheel had come around for former Bronco Matt LaCosse. But probably not.
Word is that LaCosse has a high-ankle sprain. That will probably knock him out for the rest of the preseason, and the start of the season -- less than four weeks away -- is also in question.
This injury has been hinted at by New England continuing to make moves at the position. They signed Lance Kendricks recently, and traded for Eric Saubert. They've got Stephen Anderson and Ryan Izzo on the roster too. Excited yet?
It might be best just to punt Patriots tight ends entirely. We've talked in the past about tight end production in this lineup in games Gronk was sidelined -- it worked out to 44 catches for a season's worth of games. Not anything you want to reach for in drafts.
Looking at per-game production by tight ends last year, New England currently has three players who show up on the list. I'm also bolding Gronk -- if he plays anywhere this year, and he probably won't, it will be in New England. Neither Anderson nor Saubert show up, seeing as they combined to catch all of 5 passes last season.
| TIGHT ENDS PER GAME, 2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Yds | TD | FPG |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 6.4 | 83.5 | .63 | 18.5 |
| Zach Ertz, Phil. | 7.3 | 72.7 | .50 | 17.5 |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 5.5 | 86.7 | .33 | 16.2 |
| Eric Ebron, Ind. | 4.1 | 46.4 | .88 | 14.0 |
| Jared Cook, Oak. | 4.3 | 56.0 | .38 | 12.1 |
| O.J. Howard, T.B. | 3.4 | 56.5 | .50 | 12.1 |
| Evan Engram, NYG | 4.1 | 55.7 | .30 | 11.5 |
| Jack Doyle, Ind. | 4.3 | 40.8 | .33 | 10.4 |
| Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 3.6 | 52.5 | .23 | 10.2 |
| Austin Hooper, Atl. | 4.4 | 41.3 | .27 | 10.2 |
| Blake Jarwin, Dall. | 3.6 | 40.1 | .43 | 10.2 |
| Tyler Eifert, Cin. | 3.8 | 44.8 | .25 | 9.7 |
| Ian Thomas, Car. | 4.1 | 38.3 | .29 | 9.7 |
| Kyle Rudolph, Min. | 4.0 | 39.6 | .25 | 9.5 |
| Jordan Reed, Was. | 4.2 | 42.9 | .15 | 9.4 |
| Trey Burton, Chi. | 3.4 | 35.7 | .40 | 9.3 |
| Delanie Walker, Ten. | 4.0 | 52.0 | .00 | 9.2 |
| Vance McDonald, Pitt. | 3.3 | 40.7 | .27 | 9.0 |
| David Njoku, Cle. | 3.5 | 39.9 | .25 | 9.0 |
| Will Dissly, Sea. | 2.0 | 39.0 | .50 | 8.9 |
| Greg Olsen, Car. | 3.0 | 32.3 | .44 | 8.9 |
| Matt LaCosse, Den. | 4.5 | 38.0 | .00 | 8.3 |
| Jimmy Graham, G.B. | 3.4 | 39.8 | .13 | 8.2 |
| Rhett Ellison, NYG | 3.3 | 43.8 | .08 | 8.1 |
| Cameron Brate, T.B. | 2.2 | 21.7 | .50 | 7.3 |
| Chris Herndon, NYJ | 2.4 | 31.4 | .25 | 7.1 |
| Mark Andrews, Balt. | 2.1 | 34.5 | .19 | 6.7 |
| C.J. Uzomah, Cin. | 2.7 | 27.4 | .19 | 6.6 |
| Jeff Heuerman, Den. | 2.8 | 25.5 | .18 | 6.5 |
| Geoff Swaim, Dall. | 2.9 | 26.9 | .11 | 6.2 |
| Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 2.1 | 20.9 | .25 | 5.7 |
| Jake Butt, Den. | 2.7 | 28.3 | .00 | 5.5 |
| Benjamin Watson, N.O. | 2.2 | 25.0 | .13 | 5.4 |
| Gerald Everett, LAR | 2.1 | 21.0 | .21 | 5.4 |
| Vernon Davis, Was. | 1.8 | 26.2 | .17 | 5.4 |
| Jesse James, Pitt. | 1.9 | 26.4 | .13 | 5.3 |
| Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Jac. | 2.2 | 18.0 | .20 | 5.2 |
| Jonnu Smith, Ten. | 1.6 | 20.5 | .25 | 5.1 |
| Ricky Seals-Jones, Ariz. | 2.3 | 22.9 | .07 | 5.0 |
| Nick Vannett, Sea. | 1.9 | 17.9 | .20 | 4.9 |
| Antonio Gates, LAC | 1.8 | 20.8 | .17 | 4.8 |
| Michael Roberts, Det. | 1.1 | 12.5 | .38 | 4.6 |
| Ed Dickson, Sea. | 1.2 | 15.2 | .30 | 4.5 |
| Jordan Thomas, Hou. | 1.3 | 13.4 | .25 | 4.1 |
| Tyler Higbee, LAR | 1.5 | 18.3 | .13 | 4.1 |
| Jason Croom, Buff. | 1.5 | 17.3 | .13 | 4.0 |
| Ryan Griffin, Hou. | 1.7 | 21.8 | .00 | 3.9 |
| James O'Shaughnessy, Jac. | 2.0 | 15.8 | .00 | 3.6 |
| Levine Toilolo, Det. | 1.3 | 16.4 | .06 | 3.3 |
| Charles Clay, Buff. | 1.6 | 14.2 | .00 | 3.0 |
| Hayden Hurst, Balt. | 1.1 | 13.6 | .08 | 2.9 |
| Virgil Green, LAC | 1.2 | 13.1 | .06 | 2.9 |
| Maxx Williams, Balt. | 1.2 | 11.6 | .08 | 2.9 |
| Nick Boyle, Balt. | 1.4 | 13.3 | .00 | 2.8 |
| Mike Gesicki, Mia. | 1.4 | 12.6 | .00 | 2.6 |
| Lance Kendricks, G.B. | 1.2 | 10.6 | .06 | 2.6 |
| Josh Hill, N.O. | 1.0 | 11.6 | .06 | 2.5 |
| Jordan Akins, Hou. | 1.1 | 14.1 | .00 | 2.5 |
| Luke Willson, Det. | .9 | 6.2 | .00 | 1.6 |
Fantasy points are PPR scoring. Now, New England might still add a player. Or maybe Kendricks is the guy we all should be taking a hard look at. Once Watson returns in Week 5, he might be their main player at the position.
But with each new injury and roster development, I'm thinking drafting a Patriots tight end, any of them, is just a wasted pick.
--Andy Richardson