Dwayne Allen, TE: Faller
After Martellus Bennett hit free agency following the 2016 season, the Patriots traded for Colts tight end Dwayne Allen. The sixth-year pro finished last season with 35 catches, 406 yards, and six touchdowns.
Last Tuesday, the Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) pointed out that Allen struggled with drops during the Pats’ first day of minicamp:
Dwayne Allen had 3 drops in team drills today. The Patriots had 9 as a team. Garoppolo and Brissett also had fumbles.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) June 6, 2017
Allen commented on his dropped passes, saying:
"“There’s a standard of excellence, so if you drop a pass, that’s not excellence.” – Dwayne Allen 6/7/17"
ESPN’s Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) posted a video to his Twitter account of Allen failing to haul in a touchdown pass from quarterback Tom Brady:
TE Dwayne Allen said he can play better. This drill today shows how he and Tom Brady are working to get on same page pic.twitter.com/auPSkoit1C
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) June 7, 2017
The tight end’s struggles continued through to Tuesday’s OTA, per Doug Kyed:
Dwayne Allen, DeAndrew White (x2) and Matthew Slater had drops. Devin Lucien and D.J. Foster made diving catches.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) June 13, 2017
Although he hasn’t met expectations thus far, Allen still has all of training camp to address his weaknesses. As he becomes more familiar with the system, his drops should decrease. Allen’s shortcomings won’t cost him a spot on the roster but he’ll need to improve upon them if he wants to earn Brady’s trust.