As the New England Patriots’ offense navigated a gauntlet of the NFL’s best defenses throughout the 2025 playoffs, one hidden roster weakness bubbled to the surface.
All Patriots fans love Hunter Henry. But in last year’s must-win games, especially from the divisional round on, the team’s need at tight end became impossible to ignore.
The obvious rebuttal is that Henry just had his most productive season as a pro at age 31. Quarterback Drake Maye peppered Henry with 87 targets during the regular season, and he turned them into 60 catches for 768 yards and seven touchdowns. Henry’s 12.8 yards per reception were his highest since joining the Patriots in 2021.
But as ESPN’s latest poll of NFL execs, scouts, and coaches shows, the Patriots don’t have a tight end that opponents fear.
While Henry finished top-10 among tight ends in receiving yards (7th), yards per catch (5th), and total receptions (tied for 10th), he’s not considered a top-10 tight end in the league entering 2026, per his peers. He wasn’t even an honorable mention.
Hunter Henry was top 10 among tight ends in receiving yards, touchdowns, total EPA, and first down receptions but can’t even get a mention? https://t.co/rcRQBiND2O
— Evan Lazar (@ezlazar) July 10, 2026
The reason points to a harsh reality: The Patriots haven’t drafted and developed a true No. 1 tight end since Rob Gronkowski. Teams around the league have been investing heavily in prospects at the position in recent years. New England has largely passed on that strategy, and it may be coming back to haunt them.
It’s been 15-plus years since the Patriots drafted a starting-caliber tight end
Scanning the Patriots’ draft history, there’s a clear line of demarcation: their 2010 draft class, that included Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. When you land that kind of instant-impact talent, including a future Hall of Famer in Gronk, tight end naturally falls down the priority list.
New England has definitely taken it too far, though. Since that 2010 draft, the Patriots have selected seven tight ends. Only 2026 rookie Eli Raridon remains on the roster, and the group before him didn’t even combine to make 20 starts with the team.
Every tight end drafted by the New England Patriots since 2010:
- 2026: Eli Raridon, third round
- 2024: Jaheim Bell, seventh round
- 2020: Devin Asiasi, third round
- 2020: Dalton Keene, third round
- 2018: Ryan Izzo, seventh round
- 2015: A.J. Derby, sixth round
- 2011: Lee Smith, fifth round
— Pro Football Reference
Bill Belichick famously attempted to replace Gronkowski during the 2020 draft by doubling down at tight end in the third round. The Asiasi-Keene era didn’t last long, though, and the team’s only other drafted tight end since has been Bell, a flyer selected with the 231st overall pick in 2024.
The Patriots made what some draft experts felt was a bit of a reach when they used a third-round pick on Raridon this year, but when zooming out on the 2026 draft as a whole, they appear to have made a prudent call. Tight ends began flying off the board on Day 2, particularly at the bridge between the second and third rounds.
The 2026 draft reinforced that trend. In 2024, only 12 tight ends were drafted, the fewest over the past five years. That number climbed to 16 in 2025 and reached 22 this year.
Several NFL teams will be reaping the benefits of having young tight ends in the pipeline this season. Trey McBride, Sam LaPorta, and Tucker Kraft cracked ESPN’s latest top 10.
All three of those players are 26 or younger and former Day 2 draft picks. Same deal for honorable mentions Dalton Kincaid and Harold Fannin Jr., as well as 27-year-olds Cole Kmet, Pat Freiermuth, and Jake Ferguson.
New England could have set itself up better by investing in the position sooner rather than seeking short-term solutions in free agency, such as Jonnu Smith, Mike Gesicki, and Austin Hooper. To be fair, those decisions now span three separate regimes, and Mike Vrabel just drafted a high-upside prospect in Raridon.
Henry probably deserves more love than he’s getting around the league, but fans shouldn’t have to strain to see where that disrespect stems from. New England has lacked toughness and game-breaking ability at the tight end position since Gronkowski followed Tom Brady to Tampa Bay in 2020, and that showed up during last year’s playoff run.
Henry and Hooper were New England’s lowest-graded skill-position players in the playoffs, per Pro Football Focus, outside of rookie wideout Kyle Williams.
The Patriots could still look to add a veteran like Will Dissly in free agency or explore a trade for Kmet, who’s now Chicago’s No. 2 tight end behind ascending star Colston Loveland. More likely, they’ll be relying on one more productive season from Henry while hoping Raridon can provide a spark in Year 1.
Either way, New England’s days of punting at the tight end position in the NFL Draft should now be behind them.
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