New England Patriots: James O’Shaughnessy is learning from the best

One of the newest New England Patriots has had the fortune of learning from one of the best at his position. With the Patriots, that will continue.

This offseason, the New England Patriots were able to bolster their depth at the tight end position with the acquisition of James O’Shaughnessy. For the past two seasons, O’Shaughnessy has been playing with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs drafted O’Shaughnessy in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Even though he wasn’t a huge factor for Chiefs on offense, he provided a lot of value to the team. On a run-heavy team, O’Shaughnessy was a good blocking tight end in run formations. Also, he was an excellent player for them on special teams.

On the Chiefs, O’Shaughnessy was teammates with Travis Kelce. In the past few seasons, Kelce has emerged as one of the best tight ends in the league. As a young player, O’Shaughnessy has been able to learn from Kelce. Now that O’Shaughnessy is on the Patriots, he will be behind another great tight end in Rob Gronkowski.

"“They’re both great guys,” the 25-year-old O’Shaughnessy said to Zack Cox of NESN.com. “Both heck of tight ends. I can’t say enough about both of them helping me out through my early years in my career. I learned a lot from Travis, and I’m learning a lot from Gronk, so I’ve been very fortunate to have those two as my leaders early in my career.”"

When healthy, there are few that would argue against him being the best tight end in the league. As both a good receiver and a good blocker, there isn’t much that Gronkowski can’t do on the field.

Now that O’Shaughnessy is in New England, he will be attempting to be a part of a Super Bowl contender. With Gronkowski and Dwayne Allen, receptions will likely be limited for O’Shaughnessy. However, he can still be an important part of running formations, the goal line offense, and special teams. Also, in case of injury, O’Shaughnessy should be prepared to step in for the Patriots.

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After learning from Kelce in Kansas City, O’Shaughnessy will now be able to continue to grow as a player by learning from Gronkowski. Considering that the Patriots went out and traded for him this offseason, they obviously believe that he can be an important part of the team. As a player that can do a lot on the field, O’Shaughnessy should provide value.